HC Deb 22 February 2000 vol 344 cc1366-8
35. Mr. Michael Jabez Foster (Hastings and Rye)

How many times Ministers have come to the House to deliver statements since May 1997. [109652]

40. Mr. Jim Cunningham (Coventry, South)

On how many occasions Ministers have made statements to the House since May 1997. [109659]

The President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mrs. Margaret Beckett)

As of Monday 21 February, 24 times.

Mr. Foster

I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply, which shows, impressively, how this Government are committed to parliamentary democracy. Does my right hon. Friend have comparative statistics on the number of occasions on which we had such statements from the Conservatives when they were in government, so that we can see who are the true friends of democracy?

Mrs. Beckett

My hon. Friend is entirely right. Obviously, those statistics were for this Session, but they compare favourably with the record of the Conservative party in the equivalent period in the 1992–97 Parliament—105 statements were made under this Government compared with 96 under the Conservative Government in a comparable period. Similarly, in the previous Session, 80 statements were made compared with 77 in a comparable period. That overall picture is also reflected in the statistics for individual Ministers.

Mr. Cunningham

Does my right hon. Friend agree that our right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has an impressive record for appearances when compared with his predecessor, who in 1993–94 made only seven appearances, while our right hon. Friend in 1998–99 made 12, which is more than twice the number?

Mrs. Beckett

My hon. Friend is correct, and that record is not a flash in the pan. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has made statements on no less than 25 occasions compared with 19 by his predecessor in a similar two-year period. That exact picture is reflected in their dealings with questions, where again my right hon. Friend has answered more than his predecessor.

Mr. Patrick McLoughlin (West Derbyshire)

Will the Leader of the House assure the House that, when Ministers make statements which refer to reports in which hon. Members have been mentioned, the Government will make every effort to ensure that those hon. Members see the report before the statement is made, so that they can comment properly?

Mrs. Beckett

Of course, I take the hon. Gentleman's point. Colleagues usually endeavour to do that, although there may be occasions when there is a difficulty. In general, we hope and expect that that would be the norm. If the hon. Gentleman has a particular case and concern in mind, I should be grateful if he would draw it to my attention.

Sir Patrick Cormack (South Staffordshire)

Surely, the real question is not how many statements have been made to the House, but how often they have conveyed new information. Will the right hon. Lady put in the Library a list of those statements that have not been trailed either by a press leak from No. 10 or on the "Today" programme in the morning? Is it not deplorable that we all have a clear idea of what we are to be told in the statement that is to be made in about 12 minutes' time, when in fact that information should be given new, fresh-minted to the House?

Mrs. Beckett

First, although the hon. Gentleman says that it is not a question of how many statements have been made or questions answered, because the facts do not suit the Opposition's case, the Opposition normally claim that this Government are in the House less and that that is a sign of our disrespect for Parliament. Clearly, neither of those contentions stands.

On whether information is trailed or comes fresh to the House, I recognise that there are times when there is intense press speculation—sometimes it is so detailed that it is clear that someone has leaked something. The hon. Gentleman knows how often the Government have deplored such detailed leaking. Indeed, he will recall that not so long ago the Home Secretary was extremely upset on behalf of the House because a statement that he had planned to make to the House was leaked in the press. We cannot wholly prevent that, although we try to do so. However, I also take the view that the House needs to give more thought to how we can handle such matters effectively.