HC Deb 23 July 1969 vol 787 cc1743-4
Mr. Arthur Lewis

On a point of order. I did not seek to raise this point of order earlier, Mr. Speaker, because you have said that if an hon. Member has a point of order at Question Time it is better to leave it until later, rather than to take the time of the House and prevent some Members' Questions from being answered.

My point of order ties up with the point that the hon. and learned Member for Surrey, East (Mr. Doughty) raised. It concerns the general principle of putting down sponsored Questions to obviate other Member's Questions on the Order Paper, and arranging to ask your permission and that of the House to make a statement which is allegedly on something which is urgent and important, when it has already been given to the Press and radio an hour or so before.

This is the case with regard to the Question on the Holland-Martin Report, because at 2.30 I heard on my car radio while coming to the House a full explanation and description of the contents of the report. It is taking advantage of both you, Mr. Speaker, and the House, if a Minister asks permission to make a statement in answer to a Member's Question when he or his Department must have given the report to the radio an hour or so before.

This is one isolated case, but it has happened quite frequently and it means that Members often lose the opportunity of putting their Question, or being here to put their supplementary Question when the information has already been given and the usual procedure of the House has been circumvented.

Mr. Speaker

I do not see how the last part of the hon. Gentleman's point of order arises, because the existence of advance information as to what would be raised in the House would help an hon. Member to be here to put his supplementary question.

The hon. Gentleman has raised two issues. The first is about sponsored Questions. Mr. Speaker is a political innocent. He knows nothing of the multifarious activities of Ministers and questioners in the way in which Questions appear on the Order Paper. To Mr. Speaker, Questions on the Order Paper are just Questions—plain, simple Questions.

The hon. Gentleman has raised the other issue before. It does happen from time to time that there appears in the Press information that comes ahead of information that is given to the House. There is nothing Mr. Speaker can do about that. It is something that the hon. Gentleman must take up with the Ministers concerned.