Government Announcements

Ian Roome Excerpts

Monday 2nd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising that issue; I think she is talking about the pay review recommendations and the Government’s response. They are issues that I take incredibly seriously, as is ensuring that this House has ample time for consideration, so I went back and looked at the usual practice regarding pay review settlements. The settlements went across a range of Government Departments and a number of sectors—not just schools and education, but the NHS, Ministry of Justice, Cabinet Office and a number of other Departments. It is usual practice—it was under her Government as well—that such settlements are announced by written ministerial statements simultaneously in order that they are all put out at the same time.

[Ian Roome (North Devon) (LD)]

I am sure the Sunday papers would like to thank the Government for advance sight of their upcoming statement. I am a member of the Defence Committee and I ask the Leader of the House to acknowledge that this urgent question is actually wasting all our time. Mr Speaker is quite right in granting it, but if procedure had been followed and we knew about the statement, we could have got on and debated the rest of the day’s business. Does the Leader of the House agree that there are few announcements to be made in this Parliament that are as important as our defence strategy?