HC Deb 21 October 1946 vol 427 cc1320-1
Sir A. Salter

On a point of Order, Mr. Speaker. Could not you appeal to hon. Members not to put down Questions for answer on days when they are unable to be present? We have just seen the Prime Minister inconvenienced. Private Members are also very frequently inconvenienced, when they refrain from putting down Questions because they see that a Question on the same point has been put down by another hon. Member who then does not turn up.

Mr. Blackburn

May I remind you, Mr. Speaker, that the Prime Minister came to the House this afternoon to answer a really "footling" Question on the Paper in the name of the hon. Member for Orpington (Sir W. Smithers), who was not here?

Mr. Speaker

I cannot give a Ruling on the subject. As the right hon. Gentleman has said, hon. Members will no doubt bear the matter in mind.

Mr. Bowles

On a point of Order, Mr. Speaker. We could not hear your Ruling at this end of the Chamber, on the point of Order raised by the senior Burgess for Oxford University (Sir A. Salter) on the question of Members not being present here to ask their Questions for oral not be an ordinary courtesy for hon. Members to give notice to the Minister concerned that they could not be in their places to ask their Questions? Could you not bring this to the notice of hon. Members, and ask them to go back to the earlier custom?

Mr. Speaker

I said that it was a question on which one could not give a definite Ruling. One never knows. A Member may have intended to be present, but been unavoidably prevented. All I can say now is that hon. Members might take notice of what has been said and act on it as far as possible.