Oral Answers to Questions

Jessica Morden Excerpts

Thursday 29th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I need proper notice of that question, but I will certainly write to my hon. Friend with the answer.

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

Toll increases on the Severn bridge were announced last week. Businesses and commuters in my constituency feel that they are paying the highest tolls in the UK. What they would like to hear from the Government is that they will do what they can to help now, and that when the concession ends the tolls will be substantially reduced for local people, not considered a useful revenue stream for the Government. Will the Minister make that commitment?

[Stephen Hammond]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. As she and other members of the Select Committee on Welsh Affairs heard, the tolling arrangements will continue beyond the concession because of the debts that are still repayable to the UK Government. We are in discussions and have had letters from the Welsh Government about arrangements post 2018, and I will look at them most seriously.

--- Later in debate ---

The Leader of the House was asked—

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

6. What steps he is taking to ensure that written questions for named-day answer receive a substantive answer on the day named.

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Mr Andrew Lansley)]

My office collates information on departmental performance in relation to ordinary and named-day parliamentary questions, which is then submitted sessionally to the Procedure Committee. I intend to continue to work with the Committee and with Departments both to report on and to improve performance.

[Jessica Morden]

My named-day question to the Home Office about the cost of the police commissioner in Wales after the mess-up over the ballot papers appeared not on the day named but more than 20 days late, conveniently after the election was over. I should not have been surprised, however, as the Home Office replies to only 37% of named-day questions on time. What more can be done to make Departments respect this process?

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Lady will be aware that the Procedure Committee is following the matter up and that I am in contact with Departments about it, and she will be encouraged to know that the Home Office has improved its performance recently. I think that what we need to do is lead by example. In the last Session, the largest number of named-day questions—2,260—were submitted to the Department of Health, which achieved a 99.6% positive response rate.