Tag: Lindsay Hoyle

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Below is the text of the statement made by Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, on 19 December 2019.

Colleagues, I want to begin this Session by marking the terrorist attack in London on 29 November during which Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt lost their lives. I am sure the whole House will join with me in sending our condolences to their families.

The House has directed the Speaker to make a statement at the beginning of each Session about the duties and responsibilities of hon. Members. I begin by reminding hon. Members of their duty to observe the code of conduct agreed by the House and to behave with civility and fairness in all their dealings. We all have duties to our constituents, but we are also part of a wider parliamentary community. I consider it essential that all hon. Members, both new and returning, undertake the Valuing Everyone training. The behaviour code applies to Members as it applies to others who visit or work in Parliament, and provides clear guidance. Unacceptable behaviour will be dealt with seriously, independently and with effective sanctions.

The House asserts its privilege of freedom of speech. It is there to ensure that our constituents can be represented by us without fear or favour. It is an obligation upon us all to exercise that privilege responsibly. Members must be mindful of the impact of what they say, not only on other Members but on others who follow our proceedings, and Members should be heard courteously, whatever their views. That privilege is enjoyed by Members of Parliament only in their work in this House: as private individuals, we are equal under the law with those whom we represent.

Parliament should be open to those whom it represents. We should seek to explain its work to those who elect us and to make them welcome here. The security of this building and those who work and visit here depends upon us all. We have a duty to be vigilant and to assist those whose job it is to maintain this place as a safe place to work.

Before moving to the first business of the new Parliament, I would like to express my very best wishes to all hon. Members, those newly elected and those returning, and all those who work in this House.

Outlawries Bill

A Bill for the more effectual preventing Clandestine Outlawries was read the First time, and ordered to be read a Second time.

Chairman and Deputy Chairmen

Ordered,

That, for the period up to the first sitting day following the election of the Deputy Speakers under Standing Order No. 2A, Sir Roger Gale be Chairman of Ways and Means, Sir George Howarth be First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means and Sir Gary Streeter be Second Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means.—(Mr Rees-Mogg.)

Below is the text of the speech made by Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, following the commencement of Parliament following the 2019 General Election.

First, I would like to thank the constituents of Chorley for allowing me to put myself forward as Speaker, and I would also like to welcome all the new Members to the House. May I offer many congratulations to you on your new role as Father of the House, Sir Peter? Of course, this is nothing new to your family; as you know, you have great history in this Room. You have served this place and your constituents for 44 and a half years—it just goes to show all the newcomers that this really can be a job for life—[Laughter.] And I do not think this is the end just yet.

It has been an absolute privilege to serve as a Deputy Speaker for the past nine years and as Speaker for a full two days; I have to say that that made the election pretty easy. Of course, Parliament was dissolved last month and it would be an honour to serve again in this Parliament—I hope that this time it would be for a little longer.

As I have said before, a Speaker has to be trusted, and I believe I was trusted as Deputy Speaker. I have a proven track record of being impartial, independent and fair, allowing Members to exercise their right to speak regardless of the length of their service. [Interruption.] I would have thought the new MPs would have given me a bit of a boost on that—do not let those who have been here a lot longer start dictating already! Having served on the Back Benches for 13 years myself, I understand how important it is for Back Benchers to be able to hold the Government to account and to promote the causes that are dear to them. On that basis, I submit myself to the House as your Speaker and your champion. I will ensure that my office is open to all.​