SIXTH Report of Session
2005-06 from the Procedure Committee
UNSTARRED QUESTIONS
1. We have considered the system of allocating
Unstarred Questions. The Companion says only that an Unstarred
Question "may be put down on the Order Paper for any day
on which the House is sitting. It is usual for a Member to consult
the Government Whips' Office to agree upon a suitable date"
(paragraph 4.108).
2. The system is operated fairly but flexibly
by the Government Whips' Office, and we recommend no major change.
However, to improve transparency, we recommend that Lords should
table their Unstarred Question before seeking a date from the
Whips' Office.
3. The Committee has already recommended in our
5th Report (HL Paper 197) that from the start of next Session
Unstarred Questions will be known as Questions for Short Debate,
and will be listed separately in House of Lords Business,
the successor to the Minutes of Proceedings. We remind the House
that since 2004 it has been possible to take an Unstarred Question
in Grand Committee.
THE GENERAL DEBATE DAY
4. The House agreed on 24 March 2005 that "the
general debate day should be moved to Thursday for an experimental
period of one session". On 23 January 2006 the House agreed
that, "as part of the experiment, the normal sitting time
of the House on Wednesday should be put back from 2.30pm to 3pm".
The time has come to review this experiment.
5. The choice facing the House is as follows.
First, the House can make the experiment permanent. This would
mean:
(a) Motions continue to have precedence over legislation
on Thursdays, as currently prescribed by Standing Order 41.
(b) On Wednesdays, the normal sitting time remains
3pm, and the target rising time 10pm.
(c) On Wednesdays, the normal sitting time of Grand
Committee remains 3.45-7.45pm
6. Secondly, the House can terminate the experiment.
This would mean:
(a) Motions revert to having precedence over legislation
on Wednesdays, but not on Thursdays. Amendments made to Standing
Order 41 on 5 April 2005 would need to be undone.
(b) On Wednesdays, the normal sitting time reverts
to 2.30pm. The target rising time remains 10pm.
(c) On Wednesdays, the normal sitting time of Grand
Committee reverts to 3.30-7.30pm
7. We recommend that the House should make the
experiment permanent, as described in paragraph 5.
8. The sitting pattern on Thursdays (the House
sits at 11am, the target rising time is 7pm, Grand Committee normally
sits 2-6pm) predates this experiment, and is not affected by it.
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