§ 33. Mr. Simon BurnsIf she will make a statement about synchronising parliamentary recesses with school holidays and half-terms. [45255]
The President of the Council and Leader of the House of CommonsI hope shortly to submit a memorandum to the Modernisation Committee which will deal with this subject, as part of what I have already described as the parliamentary calendar.
§ Mr. BurnsI am grateful for that reply. When she makes her submission, will the right hon. Lady remember 699 that the timetable of the House of Commons does not always dovetail perfectly with school terms? Given that 516 hon. Members have children, a large minority of them of school age, and given the intolerable burdens of our life style in this place, will she do all she can to dovetail our recesses with school holidays so that Members can see more of their children?
Mrs. TaylorI am extremely sympathetic to that suggestion. I know that many Members with families feel that we could sometimes order our timetable better at no inconvenience to the House—but for the convenience of Members. There are, however, certain problems: not all school holidays in England coincide, and Scottish holidays are different again.
I hope to touch on this problem in the paper that I submit, although there are no easy solutions. No doubt the Modernisation Committee will try to come up with some recommendations.
§ Mr. John MaxtonIs my right hon. Friend aware that Scottish schools finish term at the end of this week and that many Members, if they have children at school or spouses who are teachers, will be highly inconvenienced? Will she take that into account when considering the parliamentary year?
Mrs. TaylorNot only Scottish schools, but schools in towns such as Burnley will start their annual holidays soon. It will not ever be possible to satisfy all hon. Members on the matter, but it is possible to try to rationalise the situation and make improvements without jeopardising parliamentary business.