§ Mrs. Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham)On a point of order, Madam Speaker. On 12 February, I tabled a question to the Foreign Secretary and it took him some 82 days to reply—the answer came on 5 May. In fact, that answer is so general that it could have been given at any time. Is that not a disgraceful way to treat the House? Is it in order for a Cabinet Minister, who—on his own admission—does not bother to finish the paperwork, to prove it to the detriment of the House? What redress do we have?
§ Madam SpeakerI must tell the hon. Lady and the House that it has long been the view of the House that Ministers should endeavour to answer ordinary and straightforward questions within a working week of their being tabled. That guideline is contained in "Erskine May" on page 293. I share the hon. Lady's view that, in this case, the delay has been most unreasonable and I ask all Ministers to take that point to heart for the future. I refer them to "Erskine May", page 293, and I hope that they will follow those guidelines.
§ Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham)Further to that point of order, Madam Speaker.
§ Madam SpeakerThere can be no further point of order, because I have dealt with the matter.