Business of the House

Karen Bradley Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I remind Members that, if they are going to mention another Member’s constituency, they should please give them notice. It is a courtesy that should happen.

[Dame Karen Bradley (Staffordshire Moorlands) (Con)]

One great privilege of being a Member of Parliament is the ability to raise constituents’ concerns directly with Ministers. Unfortunately, far too frequently, the responses to be sent to our constituents come from officials rather than Ministers. I am sure the Leader of the House agrees that our constituents are entitled to hear from the Ministers themselves. Will he remind his ministerial colleagues of their duty to ensure that our constituents hear directly from them, not their officials?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I thank the right hon. Lady for raising this question, because Members who write to Ministers do so with the reasonable expectation that they will receive a timely and substantive response from a Minister, and that is absolutely right. If she has a specific example to draw to my attention, I will raise that with the appropriate Department, and I will raise the wider issue with other Departments, too.