§ Mr. RandallTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many meetings have been requested with his Department's Ministers by(a) Labour and (b) Conservative hon. Members; and how many meetings have been granted in each category. [31293]
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§ Mr. SpellarIt is not our normal practice to refuse requests for meetings with hon. Members although on occasions it has been suggested that a meeting would be either untimely or unnecessary, or should be held with a Minister other than the Minister to whom the request had been made.
In addition to regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues our Departmental records show that Ministers have had meetings with the following numbers of hon. Members from the Labour and Conservative parties.
- Labour hon. Members 29
- Conservative hon. Members 5.