Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the procedures for English votes for English laws in the 2017 Parliament; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
Following the publication of the Technical Review of the Standing Orders Related to English Votes for English Laws in March 2017, the Government is confident that the Standing Orders are working effectively in applying the new procedures.
Both the Government and Parliament continue to keep the implementation of the English Votes for English Laws under review.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, which Select Committee reports published less than two months before the date of dissolution the Government plans to respond to; and what the timetable is for those responses.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The Cabinet Office offers guidance to Departments on responding to Select Committee reports. It is the responsibility of individual Departments to follow this advice.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what discussions she has had with Ministers on the timely delivery of copies of Oral Statements to the Official Opposition.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
It is important for members of the Opposition to have advance notice of statements and Ministers try to ensure as far as possible that Opposition members have the chance to see statements at the earliest possible opportunity.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, when the Government plans to publish the draft Bills outlined in the Queen's Speech.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The Government has set out an ambitious programme of 27 bills and drafts bills and noted that additional bills will be announced as the session progresses. The timescales for forthcoming bills and draft bills will be announced in the usual manner in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, how many vacant posts there were in her Office on 24 July (a) 2017, (b) 2016, (c) 2015.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The Cabinet Office hold quarterly returns on staffing. On 30 June 2017 there were no vacancies recorded in the office. Unfortunately we do not hold information from previous years.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, if she will publish the Ministerial responsibilities of the Ministers in her office.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
This information is held publicly on the Gov.uk website.
https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/leader-of-the-house-of-commons
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, if she will bring forward proposals for cross-cutting questions to be taken in Westminster Hall.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
There are currently no plans to bring forward proposals for cross-cutting questions to be taken in Westminster Hall.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the current sitting times in the House of Commons; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
Sitting times are decided by the House. They are regularly reviewed by the Procedure Committee and decisions are made based on the options recommended.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the e-petitions system; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The new e-petitions system has been running for over two years now and the Government is pleased with the level of engagement that it has prompted among the public.
The Parliamentary e-petitions site is jointly owned by the Government and the House of Commons, therefore any assessment of potential changes to the system would have to be agreed between the Government and the House. Individual Departments are responsible for the content and timeliness of responses to e-petitions and the Leader's office has general Government oversight of e-petitions.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what plans she has for the parliamentary scrutiny of draft legislation.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The Government has set out an ambitious programme of 27 bills and drafts bills and will ensure that Parliament will be able to perform its scrutiny function in the usual way.