– in the House of Commons at 3:32 pm on 23 April 2007.
Henry Bellingham
Shadow Minister (Justice)
3:32,
23 April 2007
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. May I ask your advice? Last Wednesday, during the debate on the Pensions Bill, I asked the Minister for Pensions Reform, James Purnell about the pensions expert, Ros Altmann. He replied:
"I have great respect for Ros Altmann, but...she never worked as an adviser to No. 10 or No. 11, as is often said."—[ Hansard, 18 April 2007; Vol. 459, c. 329.]
Ros Altmann sent me an email pointing out—
Michael Martin
Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, Speaker of the House of Commons, Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
Order. That is a matter for debate, not a point of order.
Michael Martin
Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, Speaker of the House of Commons, Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
No. It is a matter for debate. Whatever information the lady gives, it is not a point of order.
Anne Main
Conservative, St Albans
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Perhaps you could help me. I gave the Minister more than three hours to research the case that I referred to, including the Child Support Agency number and the national insurance number. I wrote to the Minister on
Michael Martin
Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, Speaker of the House of Commons, Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
Once again, the hon. Lady is trying to extend Question Time, and that is not the purpose of a point of order.
Damian Green
Shadow Minister (Home Affairs)
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I seek your guidance on a written answer given on
Michael Martin
Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, Speaker of the House of Commons, Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
Order. That is not a point of order. Sometimes Ministers get things wrong. They do not mean to do so, but sometimes they do, and points of order should not be used to try to put the matter right.
Michael Martin
Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, Speaker of the House of Commons, Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
The hon. Gentleman should go to the Table Office and put down a further question, or point the matter out at oral questions. Sometimes early-day motions are used to state that a Minister has got something wrong. There are ways to redress the balance.
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Mike Penning
Conservative, Hemel Hempstead