§ 36. Mr. Harry GreenwayTo ask the Lord President of the Council what plans he has to speed up voting procedures; and if he will make a statement. [13061]
§ Mr. NewtonNone, Madam Speaker. If my hon. Friend has any particular cause for concern, he may wish to draw it to the attention of the Select Committee on Procedure.
§ Mr. GreenwayWill my right hon. Friend consider those days when the House can be delayed if it is pursuing, perhaps, a run of six Divisions? Sometimes it can be delayed by the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner), for example, as a result of being delayed in one of the Lobbies. Could not different arrangements be made on such occasions—for example, taking the first Division in the normal way and subsequent ones by the pressing of buttons or something of that sort?
§ Mr. NewtonIn its third report of 1992–93, the Committee recommended that the Chair should have discretion to appoint Tellers at any time up to two minutes after the Question was first put, in the sort of circumstances to which my hon. Friend refers. That recommendation was agreed to by the House. However, I believe that I am right in saying that you, Madam Speaker, have not felt it right to exercise that discretion.