§ Mr. Harry Barnes (North-East Derbyshire)On a point of order, Madam Speaker. It relates to Prime Minister's questions. The hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Mr. Flight) asked a lengthy question about personal equity plans and individual savings accounts. However, the Register of Members' Interests declares that he is deputy chairman of Guinness Flight Hambro Asset Management Ltd. It lists associate companies such as Guinness Flight Global Strategy Fund Ltd., among others. He has clearly been involved in advocacy on behalf of those bodies, because PEPs and ISAs are in direct opposition to their interests.
§ Madam SpeakerAs the hon. Member and the House are aware, no Member has to declare an interest during Question Time. If he has some point to make—it seems that he has—he should approach the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards about the matters.
§ Mr. James Paice (South-East Cambridgeshire)On a point of order, Madam Speaker. You will be aware that, over the past two days, many hundreds, if not many thousands, of fanners from all over the United Kingdom have been making representations in the House of Commons about the severe distress they face. In the light of the fact that the European Council of Agriculture Ministers has met in the past two days, have you had any request from the Minister of Agriculture, or anybody else in the Ministry of Agriculture, for a statement to explain what they are going to do to help farmers to get out of their severe problems?
§ Madam SpeakerI believe that the House can expect a statement from the Minister of Agriculture before we rise for the Christmas recess.
§ Mr. Denis MacShane (Rotherham)On a point of order, Madam Speaker. Hon. Members may not be obliged to declare interests at Question Time, but I believe that they are obliged to do so before they speak in a debate. Last night, the hon. Member for Sevenoaks (Mr. Fallon), to whom I have given notice of my point of order, made a winding-up speech on the National Minimum Wage Bill, but failed to declare that he is a director in the remunerated employment of Tamaris plc and has shares in Quality Care Homes, both of which are companies that pay £3 or a little less an hour. Although asked to do so, he made no reference to that interest.
Under the resolution of the House of 6 November 1995, advocacy and failure to declare an interest in a person or body from which an hon. Member may benefit is against the rules of the House. I must ask you, Madam Speaker, to investigate this matter. Despite an invitation last night to declare an interest, there was a flagrant, arrogant refusal to accept. The hon. Member for Sevenoaks has a direct financial interest in rejecting the minimum wage Bill, and keeping wages as low as possible.
§ Madam SpeakerThat is not a point of order for me. I remind the House that all hon. Members who have a financial interest or any interest at all in the subject under debate are required when speaking in the House to declare 331 that interest—and at the very beginning of their speech, not at any part of the way through. You may care, Mr. Macshane, to report the matter to the Parliamentary Commissioner.
§ Madam SpeakerI do not want to prolong points of order, which seem to be spurred on once we get to this point on a Wednesday. I call Mr. Winnick.
§ Mr. David Winnick (Walsall, North)You said, Madam Speaker, as we know, that it is not necessary to declare an interest during Question Time. Does not that undermine declaration of interest during debate? After all, Question Time is a very important feature of the House. If an hon. Member has a declared interest, surely he or she may get out of declaring it by raising the matter during Question Time.
The hon. Member named by my hon. Friend the Member for North-East Derbyshire (Mr. Barnes) has a duty to explain the matter in the House. Otherwise, it could be said that he has concealed a very important interest. If he is an honourable Member, as I am sure he is, he will want to justify, or try to justify, what he has done.
§ Madam SpeakerThe House has never required any Member to declare an interest during Question Time. I can well imagine—as I am sure the House can—that, if Members had to declare interests at Prime Minister's Question Time and other Question Times, we would not get past Questions 3 or 4. I know that the hon. Member for North-East Derbyshire (Mr. Barnes) is making a very serious point—[Interruption.] Please let me finish. 332 The hon. Member may wish to pursue the point. If he does, perhaps he will put it to the Procedure Committee, which would consider it.
§ Mr. BarnesOn another point of order, Madam Speaker. The point that I am attempting to make may have been missed. The problem is not about an hon. Member needing to declare an interest when asking a question. It is a question of advocacy. Interests are recorded in the Register of Members' Interests. The matter is for you, because you may stop an hon. Member proceeding if advocacy is being engaged in.
§ Madam SpeakerI do not enforce the regulation. It is for the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to carry out such duties and for any hon. Member—in this case Mr. Barnes—to inform the Commissioner of the information he has. It is not for the Chair.
§ Mr. Gerald Bermingham (St. Helens, South)On a totally different point of order, Madam Speaker. Incidentally, if I had to declare an interest every time, I would never get to the question.
When I first entered the House, before you were Speaker, your predecessor used to refer to tedious and repetitive speeches, as you have yourself. It has always been a rule of the House that hon. Members should not indulge in such speeches. Should not the question writers for the Opposition take time over Christmas to practise some variations on a theme, like Paganini, and return with a new theme of questions for next year?
§ Madam SpeakerThat might be a helpful suggestion for some of the tedious and repetitive questions that I see on the Order Paper from hon. Members on the Government side as well. I read the Order Paper thoroughly every day.