Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill (Sixth sitting)

Lia Nici Excerpts

Committee stage
Thursday 14th September 2023 Public Bill Committees

[Lia Nici (Great Grimsby) (Con)]

I rise briefly to support my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East. We should make it clear to members of the public who are listening or reading Hansard afterwards that individual Members of Parliament have had no influence on who comes to give evidence and who does not. The aggressive nature of what we and our staff have experienced this week really is not acceptable. We are here trying to do the best job we can, and we have had no influence on who does and does not come here to give evidence. I just wanted to put that on the record.

[The Chair]

The Committee did agree a resolution about who would come in to give evidence; that agreement was debatable and amendable. But the hon. Lady’s point is well made and is now on the record.

[The Chair]

The Whips on both sides will have heard that, and I suggest they take it away and come up with a solution that is acceptable to everybody.

[Lia Nici]

May I clarify for the record that, as a general rule, Members of Parliament do not make contact with people who are not their own constituents? I will not ask my hard-pressed team in the constituency to respond to people who are not constituents. That is parliamentary protocol. No constituents have got in touch with me about this matter, and I will not be requesting that my team respond to non-constituents, because we need to work with people who really need our help.

[Felicity Buchan]

I echo the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby. It may be useful if I spend one minute explaining how the witness list comes about. Each party suggests witnesses, and then a Programming Sub-Committee agrees the list of witnesses. I just wanted to clarify that point.

Question put and agreed to.

Bill accordingly to be reported, without amendment.