HC Deb 14 July 1976 vol 915 cc661-3
Mr. Powell

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday the Lord President indicated that he would be making a statement on the subject of the nonappearance of the Official Report for 2nd July. Although he has courteously written to me and to a few other hon. Members, there appears to be no statement.

I wonder, therefore, whether I might emphasise the urgency of this matter, in view of the constitutional importance of that debate for Northern Ireland, and suggest that, if it is not possible in the immediate future to produce the Official Report, those portions of the proceedings which related to the constitutional arrangements for Northern Ireland should be published separately and made available to hon. Members and the public?

The Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Michael Foot)

Further to the point of order, Mr. Speaker. May I say to the right hon. Gentleman and to the House that I am sorry that the matter is not yet resolved. We are doing our best to resolve it in order that the printing shall go forward. In the meantime, as I have indicated in the letter to the right hon. Gentleman, copies of the proceedings have been made available in an alternative form in the Vote Office. I know that that is not a satisfactory substitute for the full printing of Hansard, but we are trying to resolve the matter as quickly as we can. I hope that we shall be able to do so very soon.

Mr. Gow

On a point of order. Mr. Speaker. It was very courteous of the right hon. Gentleman to write to those who raised the matter yesterday, but will he tell the House what is the nature of these industrial difficulties, and confirm that—

Mr. Speaker

Order. If the hon. Gentleman is addressing a point of order, it must be made in my direction and not to the right hon. Gentleman.

Mr. Gow

I apologise, Mr. Speaker. Would the Lord President care to indicate to you, Mr. Speaker, what is the nature of these industrial difficulties? Would the Lord President take this opportunity of confirming to the House that these difficulties have nothing to do with the nature of the business which was under discussion on 2nd July?

Mr. Foot

Further to the point of order, Mr. Speaker. I confirm that the difficulties have nothing to do with the fact that Irish affairs had been discussed on the day in question. I certainly confirm that. I do not wish to say any more about the nature of the difficulties at the moment, because I hope that we shall overcome them. I recognise how inconvenient it is for the House that these difficulties should have arisen and that they still persist.