§ Mr. Christopher Chope (Christchurch)On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. May I raise Government abuse of Standing Order No. 22? It was clear from my exchange with the Leader of the House earlier that he is not prepared to protect the interests of Back Benchers on such a vital matter. You will know that as a result of changes in Standing Orders, the privilege of Members to ask priority written questions has been restricted to five such questions on any one day, yet Ministers, who hitherto said that they were so hard pressed that such a restriction was necessary, are not answering the questions on the named day.
There may be an excuse for that if the question is complicated, but why cannot straightforward questions—such as one on the costs of policing the Labour party conference in Bournemouth, the answer to which is in excess of £1.9 million—be answered on the day on which they are asked? I have just been in touch with the private office of the Secretary of State for Education and Skills. It is clear that the answer to a question that I tabled for answer today is not yet available. That question reads:
if he will attend a meeting with students to discuss top-up fees when he visits the University of Bournemouth in October.That is hardly an exacting question that needs a lot of research. The fact that it has not been answered is surely an abuse of the House. It shows that there is not much point in the House returning in the middle of September if Ministers are not going to respond to questions.
§ Madam Deputy Speaker (Sylvia Heal)Mr. Speaker would clearly expect Ministers to respond in accordance with the Standing Orders of the House. The fact that the matter has been raised will mean that Mr. Speaker will consider the points raised.
§ Ms Sally Keeble (Northampton, North)On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. A constituent of mine, John Tero, developed cancer while he was in prison and is now desperately ill. He was also the victim of a miscarriage of justice, which makes his position more serious. Because of grave concerns about the way in which he was treated, I referred his complaint to the Prison Service ombudsman. Bearing in mind the roles 1106 and responsibilities of ombudsmen, constituents and MPs, will you give a ruling on whether it was procedurally correct for the Home Office to make a statement to a radio station two days ago, giving the broad findings of the ombudsman's report, when, to my knowledge, the investigation has not been concluded and the complainant, my constituent, has not been consulted and is gravely ill?
§ Madam Deputy SpeakerAlthough that is not formally a point of order, Mr. Speaker is grateful to the hon. Lady for bringing the matter to his attention. I want to express Mr. Speaker's sympathy to the hon. Lady's constituent. Mr. Speaker would wish that the hon. Lady be given the opportunity to meet the Home Secretary to discuss the issues regarding the release of information from the ombudsman to the Home Office and its later transmission to the media before her constituent was informed.
§ Mr. George Foulkes (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley)On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. "Erskine May" describes certain words and phrases as unparliamentary. Hon. Members sometimes use such words in the heat of the moment and it is difficult for Mr. Speaker, you and your colleagues to keep track of that.
Earlier today, the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) used the term "hypocritical sophistry". I think that that is pretty near to something that would be ruled out by "Erskine May". In Prime Minister's Question Time, I have heard the Prime Minister use the words "deceit" and "lies"—rather, I have heard the Leader of the Opposition use the words "deceit" and "lies" in relation to what the Prime Minister has been doing. It would be useful to go over those exchanges to ensure that the "Erskine May" rules are being upheld. I am in no way criticising Mr. Speaker or you and your colleagues, but it is very important that we—in particular, the Leader of the Opposition—do not use unparliamentary terms.
§ Madam Deputy SpeakerIt is important that all Members think carefully about their use of language. The comments to which the right hon. Gentleman referred were not directed at particular hon. Members. I am right in saying that Mr. Speaker would always ensure that the customs and traditions of the House are upheld.