Points of Order

Baroness Primarolo Excerpts

Tuesday 10th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op)]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. As you will be aware, in accordance with our parliamentary duties, all Members at one time or another table written questions, and inevitably expect a reasonable delay before they are answered. I have four written questions that have not been answered by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the earliest of which was tabled on 13 October 2011. Another was tabled on 17 October and the remaining two on 27 October. Will you advise me on whether there are any devices I can exploit in order to encourage the Secretary of State to ensure that I receive answers to those questions?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dawn Primarolo)]

As the hon. Gentleman will know, that is not strictly a matter for the Chair, but he has successfully exploited one of the mechanisms whereby Members can draw a matter to the attention of the Leader of the House, who is in his place. The quality of answers from Ministers is not the responsibility of the Chair, but I am sure that the Leader of the House will ensure that the appropriate message is conveyed to the Department.

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. You and Mr Speaker are always very generous in accommodating Back-Benchers during ministerial statements, but Mr Speaker had to speak to a Minister earlier about the length of the initial statement that was made. Would you advise us on what advice is given to Ministers on how long their initial statements should be?

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

Nice try, Mr Brennan. Strictly speaking, that is a matter for whoever is in the Chair at the time and the Minister. As Mr Speaker has made clear on a number of occasions, particularly when a large number of Members wish to participate, the Chair’s expectation is that the Minister at the Dispatch Box will take due note and make a contribution of an appropriate length to ensure that everyone gets in.