Oral Answers to Questions

Rachel Reeves Excerpts

Monday 26th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We will take it as a rhetorical question.

[Rachel Reeves (Leeds West) (Lab)]

3. If he will take steps to ensure that no major Government policy announcements are made when the House is not sitting.

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)]

The Government make major policy announcements to the House in the first instance when it is sitting. However, the demands of modern government make it impossible to avoid making any announcements at all when the House is not sitting.

[Rachel Reeves]

The Minister for Housing, the right hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps), made substantial policy announcements on Friday that could just as easily have been made on Thursday or today. What assurances can the Leader of the House give us that until Parliament returns in September there will be no announcements that can wait, especially given that it is returning early in September? The House needs to be able to scrutinise legislation properly.

[Sir George Young]

It is precisely because the Government want to keep the House informed that there are 32 written ministerial statements on the Order Paper today. We have brought forward announcements that might otherwise have been made in August in order to keep the House fully in the picture. I am not aware that any substantial policy announcements are to be made during August.