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Tag: Lindsay Hoyle

  • Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Statement on Procedure

    Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Statement on Procedure

    The statement made by Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, on 17 September 2020.

    I would like to make a short statement about the failure of the pass readers in the Division Lobbies last night. As colleagues will know, all four pass readers in the Division Lobbies stopped working and we had to switch to roll-call voting. I have now received a report on what went wrong, and I can inform colleagues that the failure was due to human error. The contractors involved have offered their apologies, and I am assured that urgent steps are being taken to prevent such a mistake from occurring again. I thank all colleagues for coping so well with the switch, and I especially thank the Doorkeepers for their help. I know that there are alternatives to using this system of Divisions that we are currently using, and I will continue to discuss the use of alternatives with the Leader of the House and other Members concerned.

    I also wish to make a short statement about the transfer of oral questions and the timeliness of written answers. This is, of course, the responsibility of the answering Department concerned. However, I note that some hon. Members tabling questions for the Ministry of Defence for Monday on matters relating to the welfare of veterans have had their questions transferred, while others have not. What makes it worse is that this does look like political interference or at least political bias; I take this very seriously. This makes it hard for hon. Members, and the Table Office in assisting them. In the current case, the hon. Members whose questions have been transferred will be called to ask supplementaries to the questions not transferred, so they will not be disadvantaged. However, I hope Departments will give careful consideration to the principles of consistency and fairness in reaching decisions on transfers. I also wish to restate my plea for Departments to ensure that all hon. Members receive timely and substantive answers to their written questions; I do not expect lip service to be paid to Members who were elected to serve their constituencies.

    I am sure that both the Procedure Committee and the Leader of the House will keep an eye on these two matters, and I know that the Leader and the shadow Leader take this very seriously as well, so I do hope Ministers are listening.

  • Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Statement on MP Rape Allegation

    Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Statement on MP Rape Allegation

    The statement made by Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, on 1 September 2020.

    The House will know that a Member has been arrested in connection with an investigation into an allegation of a very serious criminal offence. I have received assurances from the Member and from the Government Chief Whip that the Member has voluntarily agreed not to attend the House of Commons for the period of bail.

    I, the House of Commons Commission and the House Service take the safety of our staff and of the parliamentary community as a whole very seriously and are ensuring that any necessary measures are taken in respect of MPs, employees and staff. All Members and staff have access to the Independent Sexual Misconduct Advisory Service by contacting the new single, independent ICGS helpline and should not hesitate to use it.

    While the investigation is ongoing, I believe that it would be wholly inappropriate for any further reference to be made to this matter in the House, including any attempt to name the Member concerned. I would appreciate your co-operation on this matter.

  • Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Statement on Remote Voting in Divisions

    Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Statement on Remote Voting in Divisions

    Below is the text of the statement made by Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, on 12 May 2020.

    Following the report of the Procedure Committee, and in advance of the first remote Division taking place later today, I have a statement to make about remote Divisions. A decision of the House arrived at by a remote Division has the same effect as a decision arrived at by more traditional means. I ask all Members to pay careful attention to what the Procedure Committee says about the integrity of the system. As the Committee states, any attempt to allow anyone who is not a Member to vote is likely to be a serious breach of privilege.

    The Committee asked me to get a report on the number of Members not registered on the system. I can tell the House that all Members are automatically registered on MemberHub. I have received a report from the House Service that eight Members have not used MemberHub to vote in a remote voting test. I am satisfied that steps have been taken to enable them to vote should they wish to do so.

    On each relevant day, when the business motion is agreed, I will announce my provisional determination on remote Divisions for that day. That provisional determination will be based on representations received by my office. Further representations can be made in the course of the day in question, and the final determination may change in consequence. It is integral to the success of hybrid proceedings that there is greater certainty about the timing and conduct of business than would normally be the case, and I do not expect changes to my determination to be a regular occurrence.

    Finally, I want to assure Members that I will keep the system under review. I will carefully consider feedback from Members and information supplied to me by the Parliamentary Digital Service and House Service in accordance with relevant recommendations of the Procedure Committee. Further guidance on the matters in this statement has been published.

  • Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Statement on the Department of Health and Social Care

    Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Statement on the Department of Health and Social Care

    Below is the text of the Speaker’s statement made in the House of Commons on 11 May 2020.

    Before calling the Prime Minister to make a statement, I would like to make a statement of my own accord. I am aware of widespread concerns across the House about delays in Government Departments, and the Department of Health and Social Care in particular, responding to written questions and correspondence. I have received representations on this matter from the Procedure Committee and from Back Benchers across the House from Opposition parties.

    Last Wednesday, the Leader of the House argued that a degree of latitude is allowable for the Department. However, the Secretary of State himself has referred repeatedly to the value of parliamentary scrutiny. Written questions and letters to Ministers are integral to such scrutiny. I accept that the Department of Health and Social Care faces many challenges, but I am sure that resources across Whitehall can be mobilised to support it in maintaining proper standards of accountability.

    While I think it is right for me to call for improvements within the Government, I also make a plea to all hon. Members to be targeted and considered in the written questions that they table at this time, and to avoid swamping Departments with questions on a fast-moving situation that will be superseded before they can be answered.

    I now call the Prime Minister, who should speak for no more than 10 minutes.

  • Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Speaker’s Statement on a Virtual Parliament

    Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Speaker’s Statement on a Virtual Parliament

    Below is the text of the statement made by Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, on 22 April 2020.

    Yesterday, the House agreed to a motion to allow Members to participate virtually in proceedings of the House, for the first time in 700 years of history of the House of Commons. I would like to welcome everyone, both Members joining us remotely from their constituencies up and down the UK, and Members here in the Chamber, to the first hybrid sitting of the House of Commons. I thank hon. Members who are present in the Chamber for continuing to observe the guidance that has been issued about social distancing, in relation not only to each other, but to the staff of the House who are in the Chamber, and indeed myself.

    Before we begin, I want to place on record that parliamentary privilege applies on the same basis to all Members participating, regardless of whether they are contributing virtually or are present in the Chamber. Also, of course, the same rules and courtesies apply to Members participating virtually, as far as is practicable, as they do to the Members participating physically. Members present in the Chamber should not rise in their places to catch my eye but wait to be called, although they should then stand to speak—if they are in the Chamber.

    We will begin with questions to the Secretary of State for Wales. I will call each Question and ask the Secretary of State to respond before calling the Member. I first call the Minister to answer the substantive Question tabled by Marco Longhi, whose birthday it is today.

  • Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus and the Palace of Westminster

    Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus and the Palace of Westminster

    Below is the text of the statement made by Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, in the House on 23 March 2020.

    I wish to make a statement relating to parliamentary services, aspects of the Chamber and other parliamentary business. I ask that hon. Members bear with me, as it is longer than I would like.

    On Chamber attendance, Parliament as a whole continues to follow the latest Government advice relating to covid-19, including advising Members and staff to work remotely where possible and limiting all but essential access to the parliamentary estate. I remind Members and those watching our proceedings that steps are being taken to preserve social distancing in the Chamber. As a result, attendance will be more limited than usual, but that does not curtail the commitment of hon. Members to fulfilling their parliamentary duties.

    We recognise the need to improve our video conferencing facilities to enable those working remotely to engage in Committee proceedings. Regarding evidence sessions, these facilities are currently limited, not least because the management of these sessions requires expert operators to produce audio-visual output of a suitable quality for broadcast use and Hansard transcription purposes. The teams who make such arrangements work are currently under—I do stress—significant strain because of staff absences. Further work in this area will be taken forward as a matter of priority over the Easter recess. Once the current situation has settled, I will commission a review to ensure we can develop systems to ensure we are ready and able to be more agile in the future.

    Some Members and key parliamentary staff are still required to work on the estate to enable the House to continue to fulfil its important constitutional role. As this is a workplace, it is important that they continue to have access to adequate canteen facilities. A number of venues have been closed, but in those that remain open, we are employing a range of measures to increase social distancing, while encouraging diners to use takeaway options where possible. The following outlets remain open: Tea Room, Terrace Cafeteria, Debate and Dispatch ​Box. The Members’ Smoking Room remains open, but there is no service. I can confirm that, from today, the sale of alcohol in House of Commons catering venues has been suspended until further notice. I took that decision on Friday evening. All those measures will be kept under constant review.

    If Divisions take place from today onwards, until further notice, the arrangements will be modified to allow for social distancing. The entry of Members will be staggered, with entry at separate times for three alphabetical groups. Members will be able to record their names at any of the desks. A Division may take between 30 and 40 minutes to conduct in that way. Further details will be communicated via the Whips and announced again if a Division takes place. I want to ensure that Members feel satisfied that all the staff are trying to do their best.

    I understand the wish of Members—particularly those not able to attend the Chamber—to fulfil their duty to hold the Government to account. However, I urge Members to think twice before tabling parliamentary questions. In particular, they may want to think about the impact of such questions on Government officials who are working incredibly hard to respond to the current crisis. If they are desperate questions, I will understand, but multiple questions will block not only staff members in this House but Government Departments that need to be carrying on with their duties, so please think twice. When a Member puts 60 questions down, that is not helpful to anybody or to this country.

    I should also mention that names added to early-day motions that are not submitted electronically are not being processed. I am sure all Members will understand that, in these exceptional circumstances, some changes to procedural services have proved necessary, and further changes may be needed.

    Finally, I want to again express my thanks to Members and staff across Parliament for their hard work in enabling this House to continue to function and for their efforts in limiting the spread of coronavirus among our community. We have some absolute heroes in this House who I want to thank on behalf of all of us.

  • Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Statement on Rishi Sunak’s Behaviour

    Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Statement on Rishi Sunak’s Behaviour

    Below is the text of the statement made by Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, in the House on 17 March 2020.

    Before I call the Chancellor of the Exchequer to make his statement, I wish to make a few remarks. Ministers have the right to make statements immediately after questions and urgent questions in the normal way, but ministerial statements at other times require my permission. The Government asked my permission for the Chancellor to make a statement today at 7 pm. I agreed to that, but I made it clear that I did so only on the basis that the House would be the first to hear from him and that he would not first appear before the media. I turned down requests for urgent questions to the Chancellor that I would otherwise have granted. I wanted to ensure that elected Members had the first opportunity to question the Chancellor.

    I am deeply disappointed that what I understood to be a commitment has not been honoured. These are difficult and sobering times. I do not want to pick a quarrel with any Member. I do, though, want to make it crystal clear that my view is that Ministers have a duty to report first to this House when major policy changes are announced. The Chancellor has the chance to do the right thing in the future. I call upon him now to give the House an assurance that any future statements will be made to the House first, which is consistent with section 9.1 of the ministerial code.

  • Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Speaker’s Statement on the Coronavirus

    Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Speaker’s Statement on the Coronavirus

    Below is the text of the statement made by Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, in the House on 16 March 2020.

    I wish to make a further statement about the arrangements in Parliament in the light of the announcements made this evening by the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary on coronavirus. As the Prime Minister stated, we are now involved in a national fightback against coronavirus, which means that we need to restrict certain aspects of everyday life to prevent risk of exposure. In addition to the measures that I announced earlier, we will also be putting the following measures in place.

    Parliament will stop all non-essential access from tomorrow in both Houses. All Members who have underlying health conditions, may be pregnant or are over 70 should pay particular attention to the advice of Public Health England. There will be no access to the Public Gallery, and use of the Side Galleries will be restricted to Members of both Houses. Members’ tours for constituents will be stopped. The education centre will close, and educational and school visits will cease from tomorrow. Finally, there will be a reduction in the catering facilities open across the estate. The closure of certain outlets will be announced.

    I have taken these decisions, which are consistent with the latest Government advice, with the Lord Speaker, and in consultation with Public Health England. These further steps are necessary to allow Parliament to continue to fulfil its constitutional duties, and will be kept under constant review.

    I also wish to put on record my thanks to everyone on the parliamentary estate who is keeping this House running, and without whom we could not do so.

  • Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus

    Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus

    Below is the text of the statement made by Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, in the House on 16 March 2020.

    I would like to make a short statement about the arrangements within Parliament in the light of the current circumstances due to coronavirus. All of us recognise the importance of Parliament continuing at such a difficult time because of the need to ensure proper scrutiny and address our constituents’ concerns. However, to reduce the risk to those who work on the parliamentary estate and those who visit, we have taken some proportionate and reasonable measures to reduce the risk of exposure to the virus.

    The following are some of the measures that are in place: no banqueting or commercial tour bookings will be accepted, and existing bookings have been cancelled and refunds will be issued; no mass lobbies will be allowed; all-party parliamentary groups are asked not to invite non-passholding guests on to the estate; and all passholders should refrain from bringing non-passholders on to the estate unless they are here for parliamentary business. I will be reviewing all other access arrangements constantly.

    In addition, I can announce that, to alleviate the pressure on our security staff, the Portcullis House public entrance will be closed to non-passholders with effect from this Wednesday. This is a fast-moving situation, and I expect to make further announcements later today or tomorrow morning. I will not be taking points of order on this statement.

  • Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Statement on Holocaust Memorial Day

    Lindsay Hoyle – 2020 Statement on Holocaust Memorial Day

    Below is the text of the statement made by Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, in the House of Commons on 27 January 2020.

    Today is Holocaust Memorial Day and the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. Many powerful speeches were made in the debate on this subject last Thursday, highlighting the personal stories of those terrible events. We remember the millions of people murdered during the holocaust under Nazi persecution and in the genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.