Submission from Miss Anne McIntosh MP
Thank you very much for your letter of 29 June
2004 regarding the review of Sitting Hours.
I am firmly of the opinion that the House should
return to the original hours used previous to October 2002. The
so-called "family friendly" hours which have been used
since then have been prejudicial to the business of the House,
to constituents and have had little positive affect on those who
have families.
The fact that the House now meets between Tuesday
and Thursday at 11.30 am means that Members have little time in
the morning to read and process constituency and other correspondence.
The new hours also mean that there is only a short space of time
during the working day within which to meet outside interest groups
and constituents. Meetings in the afternoon are all-to-often interrupted
by votes and statements—this includes, of course, interruption
to meetings of Select Committees, Bill Committees, Statutory Instrument
Committees and others.
The fact that Tuesday-Thursday sitting hours
are between 11.30 am and 7.30 pm means that it is now very difficult
to invite Constituents to the Palace to dine at lunchtime. As
you know, this is the only time that Members generally have to
entertain their guests, as the need to attend a plethora of evening
engagements precludes organising functions for Constituents over
dinner. It is also extremely difficult to invite constituents
to use the Gallery Tickets I am allocated and to lunch afterwards,
as the journey time down from the North of England, then to cross
London and pass through security means it is virtually impossible
to arrive in time to sit down for 11.30 am. This means there is
an inbuilt bias towards those living in London and the South East
of England to attend Question Time.
As a Northern MP, I now find it impossible to
return to my constituency during the week to attend meetings,
no matter how urgent, due to the need to be in the House all day
during the week. This leaves Friday and Saturday as the only times
when I can cram in local engagements, which previously could have
been arranged on weekday mornings when required, leaving time
to return to London for the mid-afternoon. In addition, I find
I have no extra time to see my family, as evening engagements,
which have always been a part of Parliamentary life, mean that
I remain in the Palace on most weekday evenings. I know that the
majority of my colleagues find themselves in the same predicament.
I hope that these points are useful, and that
they will be given full consideration by the Select Committee
on Modernisation.
July 2004
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