Visas (Fees) (Hansard, 6 November 1986)

§ Mr. Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton)
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I draw your attention to a matter on which you have had occasion to comment in the past — the Government's making available information to the press before it is made available to Members of the House. Today, an Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign Office planted a question with his hon. Friend the Member for Berkshire, East (Mr. MacKay) about an increase in visa fees. The information shows that visa fees are to be increased by 66⅔ per cent. for some people and are to be doubled for others.
That information, Mr. Speaker, has been in the possession of the Government for some considerable time and could have been provided to the House in the debate on visas on Monday of last week. It was deliberately withheld by the Government, and now it has been given in a written answer. But that written answer was made available to the press at 3.30 pm. It was only because the press informed certain hon. Members about it that they know about it, and—this is the important point—would know about it before the House is prorogued and before the next Session commences next week.
This is a deliberate attempt — a piece of sharp practice — by the Government to smother this reprehensible information in a way that will prevent hon. Members from raising it in the House for a considerable time. I ask you, Mr. Speaker, to do what you have done in the past, with the appreciation of hon. Members on both sides of the House, and rule that it is not acceptable for the Government to provide information to the press before it is available to hon. Members so that they can raise it on behalf of their constituents.

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. I have no way of knowing whether this was made available in advance to the press. I accept what the hon. Gentleman has said. I know that question 1184 No. 281 was on the Order Paper today. The answer was given to the hon. Member for Berkshire, East (Mr. MacKay) at 3.30 pm. I am sure that hon. Members have seen this answer, as I have just done, which states that the new fees will come into operation on 18 November. It seems to me that there is adequate time in which to debate this matter.

§ Mr. Kaufman
Further to the point of order, Mr. Speaker. That is the very point. The whole House has not seen the information. The hon. Member for Berkshire, East (Mr. MacKay) has seen the information. No other hon. Member had it available to him or her while members of the press had it available to them. Therefore, it was an abuse of the House of Commons to give information to the press when the House as a whole did not have it.

§ Mr. Speaker
I would certainly deprecate it if the information was given in advance to the press. The whole House knows that written answers are available at 3.30 pm in the Library.

§ Mr. Kaufman
indicated dissent.

§ Mr. Speaker
They are. It is a practice which has been going on for many years. I do not see that there is a point of order for me.

§ Mr. Robin Maxwell-Hyslop (Tiverton)
Further to the point of order, Mr. Speaker. Since this alleged point of order has been raised so late in the evening, may I point out that what the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Mr. Kaufman), who raised the point of order, refers to as the "whole House" is an almost empty House on his side of the Chamber. In other words, his own hon. Friends are not interested in the matter.