Working Hours

HC Deb 29 July 1974 vol 878 cc23-5

48. Mr. William Hamilton

asked the Lord President of the Council what progress has been made in the study of the working hours of the House of Commons.

The Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Edward Short)

This Parliament has not so far put in hand a study of the working hours of the House of Commons. Any proposed change in working hours would be a matter for decision by the House and would normally be preceded by an inquiry by a Select Committee.

Mr. Hamilton

Is my right hon. Friend aware that there has been and is some pressure to give the House office hours, which would be extremely detrimental to the working of the House, since the main weapon of any effective Opposition is unpredictability of time and hours, and that any set hour for closing the shop would not benefit the provincial Members from Scotland or from anywhere else outside London? Will my right hon. Friend take these factors into account if and when the proposition arises?

Mr. Short

I agree with what my hon. Friend says, but the time is perhaps coming when we can look once more at our working hours.

Mr. Tomlinson

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that there is a patent absurdity in starting the proceedings at 2.30 in the afternoon and carrying on until half way through the night when full-time Members of Parliament could be working much more sensible hours without the detriment to family life that our unnecessary hours create?

Mr. Short

That illustrates the difficulty. Many of our proceedings start in the morning. Hundreds of Members are working almost every morning. In addition Ministers are working in their Departments in the morning. It is a complex matter, but the time is coming, perhaps later this year, when we can review it once more.

Mr. Marten

Would it not be a good thing to wait a short while before coming to any decision so that the right hon. Gentleman can come over to these benches in opposition? He will then realise why we want to work the hours that we do now.

Mr. Short

I think it will be a long time before that happens.

Mr. Skinner

Although there is the argument that the fact that the House works in various Committees during the course of the morning might prevent the possibility of working normal office hours, the fact remains that the Committees work in the afternoon too when the House is sitting. For full-time Members of Parliament one of the biggest problems they have to overcome to achieve such status is to get proper office hours. In that way we would prevent some hon. Members, and particularly Opposition Members, from working in other capacities, sometimes several times over, and earning income apart from their salaries as Members.

Mr. Short

I leave aside my hon. Friend's latter point. We must face the fact that there is an enormous and increasing volume of work to be done by Parliament. The position will be complicated greatly over the next few years by membership of the EEC. I am greatly perturbed at the impact that membership is having and will have on the operation of the House. Fundamental questions are raised about how we carry out our business. I repeat for the third time that towards the end of this year we must carry out a radical look at how we carry out our business.

Mr. Tebbit

Will the right hon. Gentleman take account of the fact that when I come here on most mornings at about half-past nine there is nobody to bar my way and I can get into the House and get on with my work as a Member of Parliament? If he wants to do something constructive to improve the working of the House, he might at least have the common sense to see that the strike which affects the issue of parliamentary papers is ended, in accordance with the social compact, whatever that is, so as to make it possible for Parliament to work.

Mr. Short

I shall not say anything about common sense in the context of the hon. Member for Chingford (Mr. Tebbit). If you will allow me to do so, Mr. Speaker, I hope to make some announcements later. I hope that they will help the House to do its work more effectively.

Mr. Gordon Wilson

Does the right hon. Gentleman accept that there might be some improvement in the situation in this House, in view of the tremendous overloading of the system as a result of the additional work which is being made through our membership of the Common Market and other matters, if a Scottish Parliament were to be set up so that Scottish Members of Parliament could get down to a real job in Edinburgh?

Mr. Short

The hon. Gentleman knows that that matter is at present exercising us a great deal. There will be an opportunity later today to debate that subject.