§ Mr. Bryan Gould (Dagenham)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. You may recall the brief reference by the Secretary of State for Social Security earlier this afternoon to today's meeting between Ministers and the Council of Mortgage Lenders on the subject of mortgage repossessions. The issue is clearly of grave concern to hundreds of thousands of families who risk losing their homes, and to local authorities that will have to shoulder the burden of the homelessness that might ensue. It is also of grave concern to owner-occupiers who must fear the catastrophic impact on property values if so many houses are repossessed. Yet there has been no formal statement from Ministers. They may have nothing to offer, but that has not stopped them holding press conferences or making public statements.
Have you, Mr. Speaker, had any intimation from Ministers that they intend to make a statement, today or in the very near future, that would at least enable the House to question Ministers about that meeting and to show that, even if Ministers have no solution to offer, the Opposition have?
§ Mr. SpeakerI agree that it is an important matter. That is why I allowed a long run on question 1 today—[Interruption.] It was longer than I would normally allow. I made inquiries about the press conference and I am assured that it had nothing to do with this matter. The hon. Gentleman's point will no doubt have been heard by Ministers responsible.