HC Deb 27 June 1988 vol 136 cc159-60W
30. Sir Fergus Montgomery

To ask the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, representing the House of Commons Commission, what was the cost in overtime payments to staff of the House as a result of the all-night sitting during the Housing Bill on Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 June.

Mr. Beith

It is too soon after the event for all applications for overtime worked as a result of that all-night sitting to have been received. Moreover, this information is not normally available centrally in the form requested because responsibility for overtime lies not with the Fees Office but with individual Heads of Department. Authorised submissions to the Fees Office for payment of overtime, whilst specifying the duration of work, do not indicate the period covered. In the case of the exceptionally long sitting on 14 June, however, I have asked the Fees Office to provide me with as much information as it is able to put together, and I will write to the hon. Member in due course.