§ 50. Mr. Haleasked the Prime Minister whether he is aware that there are some Ministers who, owing to the short Sittings of Parliament, will not have been able to give oral answers to Questions on any occasion for a period of seven months; and what steps he proposes to take to restore to the Private Member the privilege of obtaining oral answers.
§ The Prime MinisterMembers' rights in asking oral Questions have not been impaired by His Majesty's present Government. The reasons for the proposal that the Adjournment for Christmas should be longer than usual have already been explained to the House. The long interval between July and November when no Questions at all were asked was, of course, due to the summer Adjournment and was prolonged by the election. The House will not expect this Government to answer for those arrangements. We hope that we are entering a more normal period of Parliamentary life.
My right hon. Friend the Leader of the House is discussing through the usual channels the special problem of Scottish Questions before Christmas.