– in the House of Commons at 4:12 pm on 18 June 2007.
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I am grateful for the opportunity to raise the fact that, on
Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. You will recall that my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House gave an undertaking that he would raise the matter with colleagues in the Ministry of Justice. He, in fact, did so, and he is concerned about the situation described by my hon. Friend Ms Keeble. He intends to pursue the matter further with colleagues in the Ministry of Justice.
I am glad that the Leader of the House will pursue the matter on behalf of Ms Keeble. Ministers should be aware that Back Benchers have constituencies to look after, and raise serious matters on the Floor of the House as part of the democratic system. Ministers should take due heed of requests from hon. Members, and I certainly hope that a statement is made, at least belatedly, that will assist the hon. Lady. Ministers should take on board the fact that it is not good practice to leave hon. Members in a situation in which they do not receive statements from Ministers. After all, they have big Departments and plenty of people around them who can assist them in making statements in the House.