Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Lansley Excerpts

Thursday 20th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Pat Glass (North West Durham) (Lab)]

4. What steps he is taking to encourage Ministers to make announcements to the House before their release to the media.

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

The ministerial code is clear: when Parliament is in session the most important announcements of Government policy should be made in the first instance to Parliament. I regularly remind my colleagues of this.

[Pat Glass]

The Chancellor came to the House this week and announced a Budget that had been largely pre-announced through a series of press releases. I hear this complaint all the time in the House and the usual playground response is, “Well, the Labour Government did it.” May I remind the Minister that, whatever happened in the past, this practice is wrong? What is he going to do about it?

[Mr Lansley]

I think the hon. Lady may have prepared her supplementary question before the Budget took place. The Chancellor stood at the Dispatch Box yesterday and announced some of the most important reforms to pensions in nearly 100 years, and benefits for savers. As far as I am aware, there was not even speculation on what he was going to do before he announced those measures. She should know that under the terms of the Macpherson report, which the Treasury adhere to, we are clear on not providing advance information on tax and fiscal measures. That was adhered to in the Budget.

[David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)]

5. What steps the Government have taken to improve opportunities for scrutiny of legislative proposals.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

6. What steps he is taking to improve opportunities for the scrutiny of draft statutory instruments.

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

The Procedure Committee heard evidence on delegated legislation from the Hansard Society on 29 January this year. I am sure that the Committee would welcome the views of the hon. Lady and others when considering whether to undertake a fuller inquiry.

[Kerry McCarthy]

One of the problems of discussing statutory instruments is that we are often given very little notice of them. We have heard that a statutory instrument on fox hunting may well come before the House. Will the Leader of the House tell us how much notice we will be given, how much time will be allowed for a full debate, and whether the statutory instrument will be debated in the Chamber?

[Mr Lansley]

There are requirements relating to notice in Standing Orders, and I try to give the House notice of business on a provisional basis if it is to be dealt with on the Floor of the House. I looked at statutory instruments from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs this morning, and, as far as I am aware, no statutory instrument of the kind described by the hon. Lady is before the House.

The hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, was asked—