– in the House of Commons at 2:01 pm on 11 November 2010.
David Lammy
Labour, Tottenham
2:01,
11 November 2010
On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. Can you advise the House of the rules on parliamentary privilege? Certain Conservative Members have used the opportunity of the statement to slander NUS presidents and other members of the NUS, and it is clearly unacceptable.
Nigel Evans
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means)
Mr Lammy, you have made your point in your way. You will know-
Nigel Evans
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means)
Is it further to the same point of order?
Kevin Brennan
Shadow Minister (Education)
indicated dissent .
Nigel Evans
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means)
You will know the rules of the House, Mr Lammy, and what privilege entails. You have made your point in your usual way.
Kevin Brennan
Shadow Minister (Education)
On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. Can you investigate whether there is currently any obstruction to accessing the House, because no comments or contributions were made by Liberal Democrat Members during the previous statement?
Nigel Evans
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means)
I certainly called Tom Brake; he had no problem getting in, and I understand that he has had no problem getting out.
Ian Mearns
Labour, Gateshead
On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. The answer given by the Secretary of State to a point that I made about access to work grants contradicted one that I had been given by his own Department in a response to a constituent's inquiry. May I ask that the Secretary of State come back to clarify the position?
Nigel Evans
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means)
Both the Secretary of State and those on the Treasury Bench will have heard the point made, but I do not want an extension of the recent debate.
The Deputy speaker is in charge of proceedings of the House of Commons in the absence of the Speaker.
The deputy speaker's formal title is Chairman of Ways and Means, one of whose functions is to preside over the House of Commons when it is in a Committee of the Whole House.
The deputy speaker also presides over the Budget.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.