§ Q8. Mr. Patrick ThompsonTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 13 March. [18555]
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. ThompsonDoes my right hon. Friend deplore, as I do, the increasing tendency for Government policy to be discussed as a result of leaks in the media and elsewhere? Does he share my increasing concern about that trend?
§ The Prime MinisterI certainly do. It means that policies that are legitimately a matter for discussion in the 497 House are often discussed and misunderstood before the details of the policies or the Select Committee report have been made public. That is damaging. I believe that the leaking of Select Committee reports, as happened last night, is an abuse of the procedures of the House. On that matter, I entirely share the views of my hon. Friend.
§ Q10. Mr. BarnesTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 13 March. [18557]
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. BarnesIt is probably seven weeks to the general election. Will not many people get a shock to find that their names are not on electoral registers? Why cannot we be told how many people are on the electoral registers in England and Wales, which should have been available for a month, before the House dissolves for a general election?
§ The Prime MinisterAs the hon. Gentleman knows, electoral registers are published at the appropriate time. I believe that when he raised the matter about three weeks ago I told him that the full count is likely to be available towards the end of March.