Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what formal mechanisms exist to monitor whether undertakings given by Ministers during Westminster Hall debates are fulfilled.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Ministers have a duty to Parliament to account, and be held to account, for the policies, decisions and actions of their departments. Westminster Hall debates are a valuable opportunity for Members to debate subjects for which the Government is responsible. It is a matter for individual departments and Ministers to ensure that commitments during these debates are monitored and fulfilled.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, how many commitments made by Ministers during Westminster Hall debates have subsequently resulted in (a) policy changes, (b) new funding announcements and (c) legislative proposals in each of the last five parliamentary Sessions.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The information requested is not held.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, which of the Private Member's Bills introduced in the last session were originally Government handout Bills, and which in this session is the Government putting forward to Hon Members and noble peers; and whether the Assisted Dying legislation was a handout.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Private Members’ Bills provide an invaluable opportunity for Members to promote the causes they support.
In the first session, the Government supported eight Private Members’ Bills which reached Royal Assent: Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Act, Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Act, Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Act, Space Industries (Indemnities) Act, Unauthorised Entry to Football Matches Act, Secure 16 to 19 Academies Act, Licensing Hours Extensions Act and the Rare Cancers Act. The Government also supported three Private Members’ Bills which did not reach Royal Assent last session: Controlled Drugs (Procedure for Specification) Bill, Courts (Remote Hearings) Bill and Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill.
For Private Members’ Bills being introduced this session, the Government will make its position known at Second Reading in the usual way.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in the previous session was introduced without drafting or policy support from the Government. The Government is neutral on the issue of assisted dying but has an obligation to ensure that any Bill passed by Parliament is operable and workable in order to fulfil its duty to the statute book. In line with this duty, the Government provided advice on matters of legal and technical workability during the passage of the Bill in the last session. The Bill introduced in this session reflects the progress of the Bill in the last session.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what estimate he has made of the annual cost to Government Departments of preparing for and responding to Westminster Hall debates.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
It is not possible to provide an exact cost for preparing Ministers to respond to Westminster Hall Debates. There will be differences in the costs of Civil Service, Special Adviser and Ministerial time depending on the policy matter and length of the debate. Debates can also be cross-cutting and require resources from multiple departments or engage departmental bodies.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what the average attendance by honourable and right honourable Members was at Westminster Hall debates in each of the last five parliamentary Sessions.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The information requested is not held. The attendance of Members at Westminster Hall debates is not a matter for the Government.
Members’ contributions to Westminster Hall debates can be found at: https://hansard.parliament.uk/.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, with reference to the Answer of 13 April 2026 to Question HL15584 on Budget November 2025: Disclosure of Information, what assessment he has made of the impact of the trailing or announcing of Budget policy ahead of the Budget without a statement to Parliament on (a) paragraph 9.1 of the Ministerial Code and (b) the Cabinet Office guide to Parliamentary Work, paras 121-122.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Government takes its obligations to Parliament seriously. I regularly remind Cabinet of the importance of these obligations, and of the associated need to ensure that Parliament is respected, that Members on all sides of the House are well informed and that the Government is able to be scrutinised effectively.
In response to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee report on Ministerial Statements and the Ministerial Code (available at: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/327/public-administration-and-constitutional-affairs-committee/publications/), the Government made a commitment to look to update the language in Chapter 9 of the Ministerial Code, recognising the need to strike a balance between Parliament's vital constitutional role and Ministers' responsibility to keep the public informed about policy changes.
Changes to the language in the Ministerial Code would be reflected in the Guide to Parliamentary Work.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, whether he plans to take steps to improve parliamentary scrutiny of the public finances of the Royal Family.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Oversight and accountability arrangements for royal finance matters have been set by Parliament in legislation. The provisions in the Sovereign Grant Act 2011 subject the funding for the Monarch’s official duties to the same audit scrutiny as other government expenditure. The Sovereign Grant accounts are audited by the National Audit Office and laid before Parliament every year, and the Sovereign Grant is within scope of the National Audit Office's value‑for‑money examinations.
The Sovereign Grant Bill will be brought forward during the current session of Parliament, as part of which Hon. and Rt Hon. Members will have the opportunity to debate and scrutinise the public finances of the Royal Family.
There are also a number of other ways Hon. and Rt Hon. Members can secure a debate on this topic, such as applying for a Westminster Hall debate.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, if he will institute an annual debate on public funding for the Royal Family.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Oversight and accountability arrangements for royal finance matters have been set by Parliament in legislation. The provisions in the Sovereign Grant Act 2011 subject the funding for the Monarch’s official duties to the same audit scrutiny as other government expenditure. The Sovereign Grant accounts are audited by the National Audit Office and laid before Parliament every year, and the Sovereign Grant is within scope of the National Audit Office's value‑for‑money examinations.
The Sovereign Grant Bill will be brought forward during the current session of Parliament, as part of which Hon. and Rt Hon. Members will have the opportunity to debate and scrutinise the public finances of the Royal Family.
There are also a number of other ways Hon. and Rt Hon. Members can secure a debate on this topic, such as applying for a Westminster Hall debate.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, if he will take steps to re-establish a European Scrutiny Committee to scrutinise EU legislation that will apply to (a) the UK and (b) Great Britain.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Any legislation made under the powers in the European Partnership Bill would be scrutinised by Parliament in the usual way.
We will work with Parliament on the arrangements for the scrutiny of any necessary legislation, and the agreement more broadly, as the negotiations progress.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, whether he has had discussions with the Foreign Secretary on arrangements for a debate on the Gibraltar Treaty during the period of parliamentary scrutiny under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Government’s commitment to holding debates during the process under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 is subject to the request being made in a timely manner and parliamentary time being available.
There are of course other routes for Hon. Members to secure debates, and I note that there will be a Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday 8th July regarding the draft UK-EU Agreement on Gibraltar.