Question

To ask the Leader of the House whether she will propose to the Procedure Committee a review of the system for tabling oral questions in the House of Lords in respect of the requirement for members to queue.

The process for tabling oral questions was considered in detail in the 2012-13 session. In response to concerns raised about the current “first-come-first-served” system - including a concern about the requirement to queue raised by my Noble Friend, Lady Sharples - the Procedure Committee proposed the introduction of a ballot in its place (Procedure Committee, 3rd Report, Session 2012-13). The House remitted the issue back to the Procedure Committee for further consideration (HL Deb 9 Jan 2013, cols 145-172).

That further review did not identify a clear consensus as to whether a ballot was preferred to the “first-come-first-served” system (see Procedure Committee, 5th Report, Session 2012-13; see also HL Deb 24 April 2013, cols 1406-1417).

I know that strong views persist on both sides of the argument about this issue. I will write to the Chairman of the Procedure Committee on my Noble Friend’s behalf to suggest that the matter might be discussed at a future meeting of the Procedure Committee.