HC Deb 21 October 1946 vol 427 cc1325-6
Mr. Speaker

There have been a good many Petitions presented lately and as they have all been out of Order and therefore have not appeared on the Votes and Proceedings, I thought perhaps I might make a short statement to hon. Members. I think in the great majority of cases there were merely sheets of signatures without any Petition on the top to show that they were addressed to the House of Commons. Some were addressed to hon. Members and actually, I think, out of 911 sheets only four were petitioned to the House of Commons. The only rule is that a Member has to sign the blue paper on the Table. In future, I propose to have that put in the Table Office instead of on the Table, and a Member wishing to present a Petition will then have an opportunity of consulting the official responsible for public Petitions who, after examining the Petition, will advise the Member whether or not it is a Petition which can be received and is in Order, and it will be necessary then for the Member to sign the paper in the Table Office before 12 noon on the day on which he desires to present the Petition. That, I hope, will make future Petition? in Order.