Written Answers (Hansard, 4 March 1987)

§ Mr. A. J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed)

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I think it is well known in the House that written answers are getting printed in Hansard a little late at the moment. There is a backlog and they are often up to two days behind. This has concerned quite a lot of hon. Members throughout the House, but one of the things that has puzzled me of late is the fact that certain answers are able to appear in Hansard ahead of the sequence of written answers.

I take for example the issue of Hansard dated Wednesday, 25 February. The written answers in that issue are dated 23 February, but at the end of them there is one page on which there appears one answer from the Secretary of State for Education and Science announcing the membership of a committee which appears to me to be an inspired question. It gets the full-page treatment and will be printed, no doubt, again at a later date. I understand the practice is that it will be subsequently printed at a later date.

The same thing occurs in the issue of 4 February, where again the answers are for 3 February except for one, a reply from the Minister of Transport, which again is a lengthy statement which is singled out and printed ahead of the other answers.

I took this up with the Editor of the Official Report and, after explaining at some length the problems that he believes are causing the delay of written answers in general, he says that the question and answer I referred to were printed out of sequence because I have instructed that 'topical' questions resulting in 'policy' statements should be given priority, that being intended to be generally convenient. Who decides which is a policy statement which should have this topical treatment? Does it not open up the possibility that those answers which the Government wish to be seen are printed on the day in question, particularly those to which they wish to attach press releases and circulate around, whereas those which the Government would find embarrassing are buried two or three days later in the written answers?

It may be, Mr. Speaker, that it is envisaged that all hon. Members should have access to this procedure and should be able to say, "My question is extremely topical and the statement, or the reply that it will evoke is an important matter of policy". If there is to be such a procedure could we all know what it is and be quite sure that it is not accessible to the Government alone?