Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 10:41 am on 14 March 2024.
Penny Mordaunt
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
10:41,
14 March 2024
The hon. Lady raises an important point. The opportunity to speak directly to the Secretary of State at the Dispatch Box is not until
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.
If you've ever seen inside the Commons, you'll notice a large table in the middle - upon this table is a box, known as the dispatch box. When members of the Cabinet or Shadow Cabinet address the house, they speak from the dispatch box. There is a dispatch box for the government and for the opposition. Ministers and Shadow Ministers speak to the house from these boxes.
