§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the President of the Council if she will list(a) the reports published by her Department and its associated bodies, (b) the reports received from bodies set up by her Department, (c) the decisions her Department has taken and (d) events in the UK and elsewhere, since 27 July, which satisfied the criteria she uses for deciding whether to apply to make oral statements to the House when the House is sitting. [93981]
§ Mrs. BeckettParagraph 27 of the Ministerial Code makes it clear that when Parliament is in session, Ministers will want to bear in mind the desire of Parliament that the most important announcements of Government policy should be made, in the first instance, in Parliament. This is considered in the light of other parliamentary business under consideration in the same week. It is therefore not possible to say with certainty whether any particular decision would be announced in an oral statement even when the House is sitting.
During Parliamentary recesses, the business of Government continues and outside events often require ministerial decisions which cannot await the end of recess. Many of the significant reports published and decisions made during the recess will come before Parliament in other ways—such as the annual reports of agencies or statutory instruments—and are laid on the day the House returns. A full list of these will appear in the Votes and Proceedings for Tuesday 19 October.
430WIn relation to my own responsibilities, monthly statements of progress on tackling the Millennium bug in central Government and the wider public sector were sent to all Members in August and September. Information was also made available in the Libraries of the House. When the house is sitting, these announcements are made by oral statement.