§ Mr. Tim Yeo (South Suffolk)On a point of order, Madam Speaker. Last Thursday, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in answer to my oral question about the Government's recent package of help for pig farmers, told the House:
The package has three elements. They have been published, and I understand, too, that the hon. Gentleman's written questions have been answered.—[Official Report,13 April 2000; Vol. 348, C. 495]My written question, which was tabled 10 days before the Minister's claim, had not, at that time, been answered. It was finally answered yesterday, at column 332W. The answer stated that information about three elements of the Government's package for pig farmers—eligible recipients, conditions of eligibility and time of availability—remains to be announced at an unspecified future date.The only way to describe accurately the Minister's answer on the Floor last Thursday would involve using an unparliamentary term. Do you share my concern, Madam Speaker, that Ministers tell the House that parliamentary questions have been answered when they have not been answered and that information about Government policy, on which the survival of thousands of small businesses depends, has been published when it has not been published?
§ Madam SpeakerSome of the points raised by the hon. Gentleman are not points of order; they are a matter for argument. He has put his thoughts on the official record.
May I say in general reply to the hon. Gentleman that some weeks ago, hon. Members asked me to look into the fact that questions were not answered on a named day, 830 and that there was a great deal of slippage there? Hon. Members also asked me to look into the long delays in correspondence from ministers.
I can tell the House that I have done precisely that. In recent times, I have had a long discussion with the head of the civil service, the Cabinet Secretary, on those issues, and only recently, I had a meeting with the Minister for the Cabinet Office, along with her staff. Both those people are extremely sensitive to the needs of the House. I am totally convinced that they are doing everything possible to try and bring about improvements. The House can be certain that I shall continue to use my best endeavours and to monitor the situation.
I ask hon. Members to be a little tolerant on the issue, as I hope that the improved procedures that have been proposed to me will be allowed to work through, and that we shall see a better service, which the House certainly has a right to expect.
§ Mr. Paul Tyler (North Cornwall)Further to that point of order, Madam Speaker. I am sure that hon. Members in all parts of the House will welcome your statement and the initiative that you have taken. In your discussions, was any reference made to a habit that seems also to be growing: the tendency to delay a reply from a ministerial source until some executive agency can be found to pass the buck to? As a result, hon. Members do not get a direct answer on the Floor of the House at all.
§ Madam SpeakerI had very long meetings—more than two hours—with the head of the civil service. I hope that all these matters will be looked into. I cannot go into details at this stage, but I want the House to be serviced properly by Whitehall, and that is what I am seeking to achieve.