– in the House of Commons at 2:27 pm on 27 April 2022.
Lucy Powell
Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
2:27,
27 April 2022
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker—
Rosie Winterton
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means)
Order. I believe that the Father of the House also wishes to make a point of order, but I will come to the Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport afterwards. I assume that her point of order relates to something that happened in the urgent question, so the Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure might like to stay for it.
Peter Bottomley
Father of the House of Commons
If the other point of order is about the urgent question, Madam Deputy Speaker, I am happy to wait.
Lucy Powell
Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Could you advise me on whether you have received notice that there will be a statement tomorrow? If not, what advice would you give the House about the very important white paper, given that we are expecting Prorogation today, that the business will fall very early, and that there will be very little opportunity for statements and oral interrogation?
Rosie Winterton
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means)
I thank the hon. Lady for that point of order. My understanding, from what the Minister said, was that there had been a plan to make a statement tomorrow to coincide with the publishing of the white paper. Obviously, if tomorrow is a sitting day, it is possible to have Urgent Questions or statements. Does the Minister want to add anything to that?
Julia Lopez
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office), Minister of State
Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I was advised by my officials that we had put in for a statement tomorrow.
Rosie Winterton
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means)
That would be an oral statement, I imagine?
Julia Lopez
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office), Minister of State
We are awaiting confirmation of whether it will be written or oral. We put in notice of our intention to publish the white paper tomorrow, and are waiting to hear whether there will be a written or oral statement.
Rosie Winterton
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means)
It will be possible to make an oral statement tomorrow, should the Minister wish to, and for there to be an urgent question then, if tomorrow ends up being a sitting day. There are a number of imponderables, but I hope that that explains the various options available. I call the Father of the House.
Peter Bottomley
Father of the House of Commons
May I say first, Madam Deputy Speaker, that I think we have the sense from both the Chair and the Chamber that the House would wish this to be an oral statement that the Government do actually manage to make, so that those of us who want to do so can question the Government on it?
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker—and this is a separate point. During the exchanges on the urgent question, I saw a copy of a personalised letter delivered by post from the Labour leader to named constituents of mine, asking them to vote on
Rosie Winterton
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means)
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his point of order, but it is not really a matter for the Chair. Obviously, as he mentioned, there are questions that he can raise with the Electoral Commission. I rather think that letters are sent out during election campaigns, from different party leaders—but, as I have said, this is not really a matter for the Chair, and as the hon. Gentleman said, he could raise it with the Electoral Commission should he so wish.
Stephen Hammond
Conservative, Wimbledon
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I seek your advice. In last week’s privileges debate, Ed Davey mentioned a number of constituencies in the House, and supposedly quoted constituents. May I ask first, Madam Deputy Speaker, whether it is normal practice to inform Members that their constituencies are to be referred to in that particular way, and secondly, whether it is normal practice to advise Members representing the constituents whom they are quoting? I should add that I notified the right hon. Gentleman of my intention to make this point of order.
Rosie Winterton
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means)
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving notice of his point of order. Obviously the Chair is not responsible for the content of hon. Members’ speeches. The guide to courtesies in the Chamber says that Members should notify colleagues if they are going to refer to them in the Chamber, other than making passing references to public statements; if they intend to table questions that specifically affect those colleagues’ constituencies; or if they intend to visit a colleague’s Constituency. It may therefore be felt that Members should inform colleagues if they intend to quote extensively from one of their constituents, but I think that that would apply especially if a Member was intending to make a political point about the colleague concerned, as opposed to, perhaps, quoting from correspondence that might have been received. Obviously the hon. Gentleman has informed the leader of the Liberal Democrats of his point of order, so he may wish to pursue the matter further with him.
Christine Jardine
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (International Trade), Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Exiting the European Union), Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Treasury)
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. During Prime Minister’s questions today, the Prime Minister repeated his claim that there are more people in employment now than there were when the pandemic began. However, the chair of the UK Statistics Authority wrote to the Prime Minister when he made that assertion previously in February, telling him that it was misleading. May I seek your advice, Madam Deputy Speaker, on what the House can and should do if a Minister repeats a claim which that Minister has been directly and categorically told by a relevant authority is misleading?
Rosie Winterton
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means)
I must stress again that the Chair is not responsible for the content of Members’ speeches, but obviously it is important for information given to the House to be accurate. I am sure that those on the Treasury Bench have heard the hon. Lady’s point of order, and that, if necessary, the matter will be addressed appropriately and action taken to correct the record if it is considered necessary.
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.
The title Father of the House is given to the MP with the longest unbroken service in the House of Commons.
The most important duty of the Father of the House is to preside over the election of a new speaker should that office be vacant at the beginning of a Parliament.
A minister is never considered the Father of the House, even if that minister is more senior than any other MP.
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.
The shadow cabinet is the name given to the group of senior members from the chief opposition party who would form the cabinet if they were to come to power after a General Election. Each member of the shadow cabinet is allocated responsibility for `shadowing' the work of one of the members of the real cabinet.
The Party Leader assigns specific portfolios according to the ability, seniority and popularity of the shadow cabinet's members.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
A document issued by the Government laying out its policy, or proposed policy, on a topic of current concern.Although a white paper may occasion consultation as to the details of new legislation, it does signify a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law. This is a contrast with green papers, which are issued less frequently, are more open-ended and may merely propose a strategy to be implemented in the details of other legislation.
More from wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_paper
Prorogation takes the form of an announcement on behalf of the Queen by the Lord Chancellor in which he reviews the session's work.
Prorogation brings to an end parliamentary business for that sitting. There are some excpetions as to what Bills can be carried over to the next parliamentary session.
House of Parliament 'Major Parliamentary Occasions - http://www.parliament.uk/works/occasion.cfm#prorog
BBC News A-Z Parliament - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/a-z_of_parliament/p-q/82524.stm
An Urgent Question, formerly a Private Notice Question (PNQ), is a question in the House of Commons of an urgent nature, for which no previous notice has been given, relating to a matter of public importance or the arrangement of business. An Urgent Question may be taken at the end of Question Time if it has been submitted to, and approved by, the Speaker. The Minister concerned must be notified before the question is asked. Private Notice Questions became Urgent Questions at the start of the 2002/03 session. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P1 on the UK Parliament website.
The Speaker is an MP who has been elected to act as Chairman during debates in the House of Commons. He or she is responsible for ensuring that the rules laid down by the House for the carrying out of its business are observed. It is the Speaker who calls MPs to speak, and maintains order in the House. He or she acts as the House's representative in its relations with outside bodies and the other elements of Parliament such as the Lords and the Monarch. The Speaker is also responsible for protecting the interests of minorities in the House. He or she must ensure that the holders of an opinion, however unpopular, are allowed to put across their view without undue obstruction. It is also the Speaker who reprimands, on behalf of the House, an MP brought to the Bar of the House. In the case of disobedience the Speaker can 'name' an MP which results in their suspension from the House for a period. The Speaker must be impartial in all matters. He or she is elected by MPs in the House of Commons but then ceases to be involved in party politics. All sides in the House rely on the Speaker's disinterest. Even after retirement a former Speaker will not take part in political issues. Taking on the office means losing close contact with old colleagues and keeping apart from all groups and interests, even avoiding using the House of Commons dining rooms or bars. The Speaker continues as a Member of Parliament dealing with constituent's letters and problems. By tradition other candidates from the major parties do not contest the Speaker's seat at a General Election. The Speakership dates back to 1377 when Sir Thomas Hungerford was appointed to the role. The title Speaker comes from the fact that the Speaker was the official spokesman of the House of Commons to the Monarch. In the early years of the office, several Speakers suffered violent deaths when they presented unwelcome news to the King. Further information can be obtained from factsheet M2 on the UK Parliament website.
In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent
