Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 10 March (HC116158), whether the Parliamentary Press Gallery was consulted over the abolition of afternoon lobby media briefings; and what role Tim Allan played in the decision to abolish those briefings as Downing Street Director of Communications.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 10 March, Official Report, PQ HC116158:

Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason the Downing Street Press Office no longer holds afternoon lobby media briefings.

Response: As the media landscape has transformed over the last few years, the previous lobby arrangements were no longer fit for purpose. The afternoon lobby was sparsely attended, repetitious of morning lobby, and not a good use to taxpayer-funded Government communications resource. It has therefore been replaced with press conferences and technical briefings which allow journalists more direct access to Ministers and greater ability to access information about government policies.