Lord Tebbit
Main Page: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Tebbit's debates with the Cabinet Office
(8 years, 8 months ago)
Lords ChamberOf course I understand the interest that the noble Baroness has in this issue, and she is quite entitled to ask this question. Taxpayer-funded Short money has risen year on year from £6 million in 2010-11 to £9 million in 2015-16. That is a 48% rise. Subject to confirmation by Parliament, the Government propose to reduce Short money allocations by 19%. This will save in the region of £10 million. Under these proposals, state funding to opposition parties will be greater than the special adviser pay bill.
Will my noble friend say whether he has heard whether there is any suggestion to increase the number of hours sat by the House of Commons to make it a full-time affair instead of a part-time one?
As always, my noble friend makes a very interesting point. I am sure that the other place will listen to his words with interest.