Clause 229
Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill
4:15 am
Siôn Simon (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills; Birmingham, Erdington, Labour)
On a point of order, Mr. Chope. I am grateful for that clarification. I could not help noting that you did not mention taking into account the desires expressed by Labour Front and Back Benchers to make progress with the Bill——progress that was not aided by Opposition Members taking more than an hour on the last group of amendments. Nor was it expedited by your decision not to allow the Question to be put some time into that hour. In the light of this very unusual suspension for a very long period of time, which effectively denies us the opportunity to sit through the night, and adjourning the sitting until the morning, can you clarify the precedents for the decision, which is not in line with the advice we received from the Clerk earlier in the evening?