Sessional Information Digest: 2006 - 07
Section A - Part 1
Sittings of the House and Dates of Session
The House sat on every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and on 13 Fridays during the following periods (all dates inclusive)
15th Nov 2006-19th Dec 2006
8th Jan 2007-8th Feb 2007
19th Feb 2007-29th Mar 2007
16th Apr 2007-3rd May 2007
8th May 2007-24th May 2007
4th June 2007-26th July 2007
8th Oct 2007-30th Oct 2007
The total number of sitting days was 146. The House sat for 1118 hours and 52 minutes, and the average length of the daily sitting (including Fridays) was 7 hours and 40 minutes.
The House sat on the following Fridays: 19 and 26th January 2007; 2nd and 23rd February 2007; 2nd, 9th and 23rd March 2007; 20th and 27th April 2007; 18th May 2007; 15th and 29th June 2007; and 19th October 2007.
Analysis of the time of the session
Type of Business
| Total time spent (hours:minutes) |
| | | |
1
| Addresses other than Motions to annul or revoke Statutory Instruments (including debate on Queen's Speech)
| 40.14
| |
| | | |
2
| Government Bills
| | |
| Second Reading debate (Bills committed to a Public Bill Committee)
| 97.46
| |
| Second Reading debate (Bills committed to a Committee of the Whole House)
| 22.02
| |
| Committee of the Whole House
| 20.44
| |
| Consideration (Report stage)
| 105.17
| |
| Third Reading
| 18.04
| |
| Lords Amendments
| 31.22
| |
| Allocation of Time Order (including Programme Motions)
| 1.18
| |
| Committal and Carry-over Motions
| 1.38
| |
| | | |
3
| Private Members' Bills
| | |
| Motions for the introduction of Ten Minute Rule Bills
| 9.36
| |
| Second Reading
| 42.35
| |
| Other stages
| 18.42
| |
| | | |
4
| Government motions
| | |
| European Community Documents
| 4.58
| |
| Business Motions
| 0.28
| |
| General
| 38.30
| |
| | | |
5
| Opposition motions
| | |
| Opposition Days (20 days)
| 116.49
| |
| | | |
6
| Private Members' Motions (substantive)
| 8.03
| |
| | | |
7
| Adjournment
| | |
| Government debates on motions for the Adjournment
| 129.20
| |
| Last day before Recesses
| 18.08
| |
| Daily (at end of business)
| 71.23
| |
| | | |
8
| Estimates
| 16.23
| |
| | | |
9
| Money Resolutions
| 0.37
| |
| | | |
10
| Ways and Means Resolutions (including Budget Debate)
| 25.24
| |
| | | |
11
| Statutory Instruments
| | |
| Affirmative Statutory Instruments
| 16.15
| |
| Motions to annul or revoke Statutory Instruments
| 1.46
| |
| | | |
12
| Oral Questions
| 122.28
| |
| Urgent Questions
| 6.00
| |
| Statements
| 72.48
| |
| Business statements
| 27.31
| |
| SO No 24 Applications
| 0.14
| |
| Points of Order and Speaker's Rulings
| 4.17
| |
| Suspension
| 10.11
| |
| Presentation of Public Petitions
| 3.16
| |
| Daily Prayers
| 12.13
| |
| | |
| | |
Sessional Total
| 1118.52
| |
Note: | The time taken up by Divisions is included with the class of business upon which the divisions were called. |
Section A - Part 2
Parliamentary Questions
Statistics of Parliamentary Questions are available in two forms. The figures for each, which for various reasons (mainly owing to methods of counting and recording) are not exactly comparable, are as follows:
Questions appearing on the Order Paper calculated by the Journal Office
Appearing on the Order Paper for Oral Answer
| 3,7361 |
Put down for priority Written answer
| 10,590 |
Put down for non-priority Written Answer
| 47,235 |
| |
Total
| 61,561 |
1. Of which 1,767 received an oral answer in the House on one of the 129 days on which such answers were given.
Questions appearing in Hansard, and indexed in the Parliamentary Information Management Services (PIMS)
Oral replies (including supplementaries)
Oral replies (excluding supplementaries)
| 5,617
1,769
|
Written replies
| 58,175
|
Total
| 63,792
|
The total number of urgent questions (excluding Business Questions) was 9
The total number of supplementary questions (excluding tabled questions) was 3848
Section A - Part 3
Opposition Days
Standing Order No 14(2),(3) provides that 20 days shall be allotted in each session for proceedings on opposition business. 17 of these are allocated to the main opposition party (Conservative) and 3 to the other opposition parties.
Date
| Day No.
| Subject of Debate |
5.12.06
| 1
| 1)Public health |
| | 2)Transport strategy |
10.1.07
| 2
| 1) Maternity services |
| | 2) Sub post-offices |
23.1.07
| 3
| 1) Health care-acquired infections |
| | 2) Life chances of disabled children |
30.1.07
| 4
| Special educational needs |
7.2.07
| 5
| 1) Al-Yamamah arms agreement (LD) |
| | 2)The Government's record on crime and the criminal justice system (LD) |
21.2.07
| 6
| Acute hospital services |
26.2.07
| 7
| 1) Royal Navy |
| | 2) Electoral systems |
17.4.07
| 8
| Occupational pensions |
24.4.07
| 9
| 1) Modernising medical careers |
| | 2) Local government |
08.5.07
| 10
| 1) Climate change (LD) |
| | 2) Mental health services (LD) |
15.5.07
| 11
| Armed conflict (Parliamentary approval) |
23.5.07
| 12
| 1) Conduct of the Scottish parliamentary elections |
| | 2)To reduce the salary of the Secretary of State for Health by £1000 |
6.6.07
| 13
| 1) NHS IT programme |
| | 2) Effectiveness of the Department for Trade and Industry |
11.6.07
| 14
| 1) Iraq inquiry |
| | 2) Carers |
3.7.07
| 15
| 1) Access to NHS Services |
| | 2) Pensions Policy |
11.7.07
| 16
| 1) Stroke services |
| | 2) Social policy and the relief of poverty |
16.7.07
| 17
| 1) Alleged overseas corruption (LD) |
| | 2) Fair Taxation of the Wealthy (LD) |
24.7.07
| 18
| 1) Penal system |
| | 2) Global poverty |
10.10.07
| 19
| 1) Department for Children Schools and Families |
| | 2) Home Information Packs and Stamp Duty |
17.10.07
| 20
| Foot and Mouth/Bluetongue |
| | |
| | |
LD-Liberal Democrat
Section A - Part 4
Estimates Days
Standing Order No 54 provides that three days shall be allotted during each session for the consideration of Estimates (see Factsheet No P6). The Subjects are set down by resolution of the Liaison Committee.
Date
| No. of Allotted Day
| Principal Subjects |
7.12.06
| 1st
| (1)Affordable housing |
| | (2)Occupational pensions |
12.3.07
| 2nd
| (1)NHS deficits |
| | (2)Local transport |
9.7.07
| 3rd
| (1)Department of Trade and Industry |
| | (2)Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs |
Section A - Part 5
Government Substantive Motions
Date
| Subject |
14.3.07
| Trident |
28.3.07
| Communications Allowance |
25.7.07
| Machinery of Government |
25.7.07
| Home Affairs |
25.10.07
| Modernisation of the House of Commons |
Section A - Part 6
Standing Order No 24
Standing Order No 24 allows Members to suggest that a specific and important matter should have urgent consideration and that an emergency debate be held upon it. It is for the Speaker to decide whether the matter is sufficiently specific, important and urgent to warrant giving it precedence, and among other things to have regard to the probability of the matter being brought before the House by other means; the Chair in general gives leave very seldom. During the 2006-2007 Session, there were 4 applications and none were successful.
Section A - Part 7
Divisions
The total number of divisions during the Session was 221.
Section A - Part 8
Early Day Motions
The total number of Early Day Motions tabled during the Session was 2385, of which 17 were prayers for the annulment of statutory instruments. Factsheet P3 on Early Day Motions is available from the House of Commons Information Office.
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