HC Deb 23 May 2000 vol 350 cc861-2
36. Mr. Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock)

If she will propose to the Modernisation Committee a more even distribution of the sitting days throughout the parliamentary Session. [121914]

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

The Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons considered the parliamentary calendar in its first report of the Session 1998–99. It is something that the Committee continues to bear in mind in its deliberations.

Mr. Mackinlay

I welcome that reply, because it is not recognised that the House has more plenary sessions than any other parliamentary Chamber in the world. In a few moments, we shall hear a statement from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence, but, if the circumstances that have prompted that statement were to occur in September, there would be no such statement. Should we not move away from the situation in which the House is driven by legislation and only sits when there is legislation to consider? Should there not be sittings in the early autumn to allow for parliamentary questions and for parliamentary statements?

Mrs. Beckett

I understand the point that my hon. Friend makes. He will know that the issue has been considered continually down the years and from Parliament to Parliament. Proposals for major change have always foundered on issues such as the timing of party conferences and the necessity to make arrangements for them many years ahead. However, unless the House sits every day, there is always the possibility that something untoward may happen when the House is not sitting.

I assure my hon. Friend that we continue to keep the matter under review. However, I say to him and the House that, unless we are able to be more ordered and more efficient in the conduct of our business and in the way that we handle the parliamentary timetable and legislative discussion, it will always be difficult to deal with the kind of issues that he raises.

Mr. Paul Tyler (North Cornwall)

Even allowing for the fact that the next parliamentary Session may be foreshortened—I understand that today there is speculation that polling day may coincide with a certain first birthday—will the Leader of the House consider whether this year might not be a good one to see whether we can achieve greater consensus across the parties about the timetabling of legislation through the year?

Mrs. Beckett

The first that I heard anyone seriously speculate about such issues—at least, they thought they were serious—was immediately after publication of the previous Queen's Speech. The press, who had clearly become rather bored with this Parliament, began to say that it was clearly time for another general election. I have long thought that such speculation had much more to do with the boredom of the press, who want something different to write about, than with anything else.

I certainly concur with the latter part of the hon. Gentleman's remarks. The House needs to reconsider seriously the recommendations that have been made over 10 years about how we programme our discussions to ensure that we scrutinise our legislation well and not dilatorily.