§ 37. Mr. Norman Baker (Lewes)What representations she has received on the conclusions of the Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons in respect of oral questions (HC 600). [36293]
§ The President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mrs. Ann Taylor)Although I have received a number of favourable comments on the report generally, I have not received any comments specifically on oral questions.
§ Mr. BakerPerhaps I can ask the President of the Council one now. As she knows, Opposition Members are all great fans of the Minister without Portfolio, and are delighted to have pushed up his Question Time from nothing, to five minutes, and then to 10 minutes. However, there is no slot in which to ask oral questions on his wider responsibilities. Is she aware that, in the previous Parliament, the then Deputy Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Henley (Mr. Heseltine), had a slot to answer oral questions on his responsibilities for co-ordinating and presenting Government policy? Should not that model be followed by the Minister without Portfolio?
§ Mrs. TaylorI have explained to the hon. Gentleman on several occasions that the Minister without Portfolio answers questions on topics for which he is the lead Minister. He is not the lead Minister on other topics; therefore, other Ministers are accountable to the House for those subjects. Current arrangements are working quite well.
§ Mr. Nicholas Soames (Mid-Sussex)The right hon. Lady will know that I wrote to her to congratulate her on some of the measures that she has taken already in reforming the House. Does she agree that it is important that new Members should perhaps spend some time in the Chamber and in the House generally before they pass too many comments on how we should conduct our affairs in future?
§ Mrs. TaylorI think that we not only have experience to impart to new Members but something to learn from them. We have found on the Modernisation Committee that, if we take a balance of views between new Members and more experienced Members, it is not always a matter of one group against another. We need a variety of experience, but also the freshness of thought that sometimes comes from new Members.