Submission from Mr Bob Blizzard MP
Thank you for your letter of 29 June 2004 about
the sitting hours of the House.
I would urge the Modernisation Committee to
maintain the existing hours for the following reasons:
1. The current hours are more in tune with
the wider world and the normal working day in this country.
2. The people, press and other organisations
can take more notice of the key activities of parliament now that
they do not take place late at night. This is important for back
bench contributions as well as front bench announcements.
3. It is better for the health of Members
and all those who work in the House to be working relatively early
in the mornings, rather than later in the evening or into the
night.
4. Under the current arrangements one can
approach evening appointments and engagements with much mere certainty,
rather than having to cancel or refuse many of these because of
parliamentary business.
5. I did not vote for the current arrangements
because my family lives in the constituency not here in London.
However, I can now clearly see the benefit that the current hours
have brought to those who do have a family life here.
6. It took me (and many others, I think)
a long time to get used to the new routines that had to be established
under the current hours. I am used to them now and I do not wish
to undergo another period of disruption, especially to return
to the hours (or something similar) with which so many people
were unhappy. It works now; do not try to fix it again.
July 2004
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