At the beginning of 2003, the House adopted the following new sitting hours:
Current sitting hours to scheduled end of main business
Sitting Hours before January 2003 to scheduled end of main business
Monday
2.30 p.m.-10.00 p.m.
2.30 p.m.-10.00 p.m.
Tuesday
11.30 a.m.-7.00 p.m.
2.30 p.m.-10.00 p.m.
Wednesday
11.30 a.m.-7.00 p.m.
2.30 p.m.-10.00 p.m.
Thursday
11.30 a.m.-6.00 p.m.
11.30 a.m.-7.00 p.m.
Friday
9.30 a.m.-2.30 p.m.
9.30 a.m.-2.30 p.m.
The new arrangements will expire at the end of the present Parliament and the Modernisation Committee has produced this Report in order to inform the debate which will take place in the House in early 2005, when the House will need to decide the sitting hours for the beginning of the next Parliament (paragraphs 1-9).
The Committee has consulted widely among Members and has drawn on the Procedure Committee's useful survey of Members' views on the subject, conducted in early 2004.
The Committee recommends retaining the current arrangements on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays (paragraphs 10-25, 31 & 32).
Thursday is no longer used as much as it once was for substantial whipped business. As well as causing a 'bunching' of business in the Chamber on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, this has tended to exacerbate clashes between standing committees, select committees, and the Chamber. The Committee recommends lengthening the Thursday sitting by one hour, by sitting at 10.30 a.m. and keeping the current finish time for the main business of 6 p.m. This would restore the sitting day to sufficient length to take substantial business such as major second readings and Opposition days (paragraphs 26-30)
There has been an overall loss of time in standing committees as early morning sittings have proved inconvenient and committees are reluctant to sit into the evening if the House is not sitting. The Committee recommends that, in order to increase the amount of time available to standing committees, the period of time during which committees are not allowed to meet in the middle of the day should be shortened from 2½ hours to 2 hours. It will still be for standing committees to determine their own pattern of sittings (paragraphs 35-39).
The timing of standing and select committee meetings is a matter for committees themselves, but the Committee makes a number of suggestions as to how some of the current congestion of committee meetings might be relieved (paragraphs 33, 34 & 38).
Although it is not governed by the Standing Orders, and therefore not something on which the House now needs to take a decision, the Committee also comments on the annual pattern of sittings and recesses (paragraphs 41-46). The Committee proposes that, in the absence of a September sitting in 2005, there should be a two-week period when questions for written answer can be tabled and answered (paragraph 46).
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