House of Lords: Oral Questions

Baroness Sharples Excerpts

Thursday 21st March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I have a number of points, my Lords. First, on the question of having a Lord Speaker, I know that the House looked at it in the previous Session and concluded by a considerable margin that it would prefer to keep things as they were. As for regulating the House, it is the responsibility of all those on the Front Benches not to speak too long and not to hog questions and take them away from the Back Benches, but it is also the responsibility of the whole House to make its views known if it thinks that Members are going on for too long or are asking too many questions.

[Baroness Sharples]

Does my noble friend agree that a single supplementary question is much better than a double-barrelled question, because the Minister does not have time to think?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

As is often the case, my Lords, I do think that less is more. The Companion is extremely clear. It says that supplementary questions should be,

“short and confined to not more than two points … they should not incorporate statements of opinion. They should not be read”.

I think all of us will want to remember that.