Points of Order
Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Preet Kaur Gill
Madam Deputy Speaker
Order. Neither of these matters are points of order for the Chair. I appreciate that they are matters on which Members feel very strongly, and that they wish to find an opportunity to criticise and to debate what is right and what is wrong in this matter. It is not for the Chair to take any responsibility for Members’ correspondence with journalists, for example, but I would always, as the Speaker has done many times, urge that responsible language is used by Members in this House and outside this House. If the hon. Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) has a specific point about the use of parliamentary stationery, the way to deal with that is to write, with evidence, to Mr Speaker, rather than to raise it on the Floor of the House.
Preet Kaur Gill (Birmingham, Edgbaston) (Lab/Co-op)
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Please could you advise me of how I can get hold of a response to my letter to the Minister for Immigration and the international development Minister, dated 2 March—that is four and a half months ago—about the ballooning bill of aid for asylum hotels under their watch? Last year, in-donor refugee costs ballooned to £3.7 billion. The cost per person per night in asylum accommodation has gone up fivefold in four years and the case backlog still stands at 170,000. As we are a day from recess, can you advise me on how I can get a timely response, Madam Deputy Speaker?
Madam Deputy Speaker
Will the hon. Lady clarify her question? Was the letter written personally by her on behalf of a particular constituent?
Preet Kaur Gill
Yes, of course—many constituents have written to me on this matter.
Madam Deputy Speaker
No, I am asking the hon. Lady whether the letter was about a named, particular constituent.
Preet Kaur Gill
The letter was written in my capacity in my current role, but it was on behalf of many people who have written to me raising concerns.
Madam Deputy Speaker
As has been said from the Chair many times—the Speaker has repeatedly said it—it is essential that Ministers answer correspondence in a timeous fashion; four and half months is too long to wait. However, if every time a Member of Parliament wrote a general letter about a general matter to a Minister and did not get an immediate response, they raised a point of order here in the House, then we would have points of order for two hours every day. It is not a point of order. I hope that the hon. Lady will get an answer to her letter, but it is not a point of order and Members should not come to the Chamber to complain about a general matter that is a matter for debate.