§ Sir R. AclandMay I raise again, very briefly, the point of Order which during Question Time seemed to engage the mild interest of other Members of this House? If you look at Question No. 62, Mr. Deputy-Speaker, you will find there that I asked for four quite straightforward figures. I thought that the Financial Secretary to the Treasury might have a very natural desire to publish to the House and the country the other figures which need to be known in order that the importance or otherwise of the figures I asked for should be judged. I appreciate that he has every right to ask me whether he may publish all these figures in the OFFICIAL REPORT, and I appreciate, too, that if I then asked him if he would give me the particular four figures for which I asked—which could not be a very difficult task or require any great amount of 1701 time—he has every right to ask me not to judge the effect of these figures until I have seen the other figures which he wishes to publish, and that he has every right to refuse to entertain Supplementary Questions until that has been done. The two questions which I wish to ask you, Mr. Deputy-Speaker, for the guidance of the House are whether the words "with the hon. Member's permission" are in fact a pure formality which can be set aside by the Minister—and that is the question of principle—and whether you will permit the Minister to give me now, not the whole table, but just the four figures for which I asked?
Mr. Deputy-SpeakerI think the hon. Member must realise that I have no control over the answers which are given by Ministers, provided that they are in order and in no way objectionable from the point of view of the Chair. In those circumstances I am not prepared to make any suggestion in regard to the questions the hon. Member asked me. As to the Minister having used the words "with permission," the Minister is quite entitled to take that course if he chooses. I am afraid the hon. Member must accept it.
§ Sir R. AclandThen what is the point of introducing the words "with permission" if the Minister is in any case going to do what he proposes to do?
Mr. Deputy-SpeakerThat is not a matter for me. There is a certain amount of freedom of speech allowed even to Members on the Front Bench, and if they choose to put in a few polite words that is not a matter for me.
§ Commander Sir Archibald SouthbyOn the same point of Order, and for the guidance of the House, is it not a fact that a Member who puts down a starred Question is entitled to an answer to that Question on the Floor of the House, however long or short the answer may be, and if a Question has been starred, does not the phrase "with the hon. Member's permission"mean that the hon. Member's permission is necessary before the Minister can circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT?