Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)
My Lords, before we start proceedings, I thought it would be useful to again focus, with the support of the usual channels, on the importance of good discipline during Oral Questions. As I have said many times before, the clue is in the title. The Companion is clear that questions should be short and confined to no more than two points. Crisp, clear and succinct is, I believe, what the House wants. While the majority of noble Lords follow this, we have seen a trend towards longer contributions and more questions becoming like short speeches. This restricts the time available for other Members to question Ministers, which I know is a source of frustration. I therefore ask that we continue with the overall discipline of short, focused questions to maximise the time available.
The same discipline applies to Ministers as well. The House rightly expects Ministers to give crisp, clear, succinct and to-the-point answers. I have reminded all Ministers of this; I have also made it clear to their private offices.
Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)
My Lords, in the spirit of what the Government Chief Whip has just said, I totally agree.