House of Lords Parliamentary Questions

© House of Lords 2011

John Turner, Clerk of the Table Office

17 October 2013

Questions in the House of Lords


The Table Office

• John Turner, Elspeth Jones and Joey Topping• Rotating band of “minute clerks”• Clerk Assistant• Business tabled up to 6pm each sitting day• Everything checked by Clerk of the Table Office, Clerk

Assistant, Clerk of the Parliaments, Government Whips’ Office

• House of Lords Business published overnight every sitting day; written questions e-mailed to departments


Questions: general principles

• To Her Majesty’s Government• Or Leader of the House or Chairman of Committees• If asked in House, leave required• Self-regulation


Types of questions

• Oral questions• Secretary of State questions• Private notice questions• Questions for short debate (+ topical QSDs)• Questions for written answer


Standing Order 34: Oral Questions

• Questions to which a star is attached, indicating that they are asked for information only, may be placed on the Order Paper for any day on which the House is sitting other than a Friday. No debate may take place on such Questions, and supplementary questions must be confined to the subject of the original Question.

1 June 1954


House of Lords Business


Oral questions

• Timing – question time is 30 mins at start of business, 4 questions

• Tabling – slots available 4 weeks in advance; queues• Ministers’ replies (75 words) and supplementary questions• Topical questions:

– Timing– Ballot, drawn 2 days in advance (or on Fri for Tues)– Tests of topicality: Coverage? What’s new? Could it wait?– “The Clerks discourage members from tabling questions

which are clearly not topical” Companion, para 6.33


Secretary of State questions (currently not in operation)

• Timing: One Thursday a month, after oral questions• 3 questions, 20 minutes• Tabling: ballot drawn on the Monday• Proceedings: same as other oral questions


Private Notice Questions

• Urgent and important• Lord Speaker decides; consultation; no appeal to the House• Decision taken by 12 noon; question asked at 3 to 3.30• Timing: 10 minutes, after the topical oral question • Number: 8 in 2012-13 (32 requests)• 10 in 2010-12 (52 requests)• Proceedings: much the same as other oral questions• Repetition of Commons Urgent Questions uses same rules

(so 10 mins rather than 40)


Allowed private notice questions

• Lord Dholakia asked Her Majesty’s Government what action they propose to take to ensure that the security of the United Kingdom is not compromised on 30 November. (28 November 2011)

• Baroness Royall of Blaisdon asked Her Majesty’s Government in the light of the loss of public and commercial confidence in News International and the imminent closure of the consultation period, whether they will suspend consideration of News Corporation's bid to take over BSkyB. (7 July 2011)


Failed private notice questions

• To ask HMG what is their response to the escalating crisis in Sudan.

• To ask HMG whether they will ensure that there are sufficient copies of the Boundary Commission for England’s Initial Review of Parliamentary Boundaries in England, published on 13 September, available in the Printed Paper Office for the use of all Members of the House.

• To ask HMG, in light of the conflicting public views expressed by senior Cabinet Ministers, whether they continue to support the Human Rights Act 1998.

• To ask HMG whether they will extend the consultation period in respect of their proposal to abolish hallmarking of items made from precious metals.


Questions for short debate

• Timing: “Dinner break”, last business, Grand Committee• Tabling: added to list whenever; Government Whip’s Office

table them (roughly) in order• Duration: 1 or 1 ½ hours, strictly time-limited• Although initiating a debate, still a question rather than

motion; no right of reply for initiating member• Minister’s reply: 12 minutes


Topical questions for short debate

• New innovation. First one should be taking place about now• But there were no valid entries in the ballot• Drawn on Tuesdays for a debate to take place Thursday the

following week• Must have had coverage in at least two “mainstream media

outlets” over the weekend


Questions for written answer

• Six per day; 12 per week; no “named day”• Answers:

– Within 10 working days; transfers possible– “Naughty list”; follow-up questions (Lord Jopling)– Published in Hansard– Sent to member; email


Highest scorers of 2012-13Maximum possible = 426

• Baroness Tonge: 180• Lord Hylton: 219• Lord Myners: 263• Lord Alton of Liverpool: 286• Lord Laird: 382 • Top five questioners tabled 1330 questions• Total tabled in the session = 6808


Questions: HMG responsibility

• Must relate to HMG’s responsibilities– Not matters devolved to local authorities– Or to devolved institutions– Not internal affairs of another country – except

regarding human rights or matters covered by international conventions to which the UK is party

– Not matters for the Church of England– Not over 30 years old


Questions: eliciting information

• “The purpose of parliamentary questions is to elicit information from the government of the day, and thus to assist members of both Houses in holding the government to account.”

• So should be asking for information– Not expressing an opinion– Not providing information– Not hypothetical– Not “trivial, vague or meaningless”


Questions: admissibility

• May not:– Ask the government for a legal opinion– Relate to matters sub judice– Be too broad (initial oral reply in 75 words; written

answer within two columns of Hansard; disproportionate cost for QWAs set at £800)

– Be phrased offensively– Cast reflections on Sovereign or Royal Family– Ask about House of Commons matters


Wording of questions

• Should be short, clear and focused• House style



• To ask HMG their view on the BBC issuing guidelines that amount to abandoning the terms in the calendar of BC and AD.



• To ask HMG what representations they have made to the Israeli government concerning the content of History books used in Israeli schools.


Questions should not “contain an expression or statement of opinion”

• “To ask HMG why before again misleading the House on 25 April the Minister did not apologise to the House for stating that the report of the Congressionally-mandated US Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illnesses is being reviewed by the United States Institute of Health; and if he will now apologise both to the House and the ex-service community for doubly misleading Parliament.” NO


... a bit better

• “To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answers by Lord Tunnicliffe on 27 April (HL Deb, cols 8-10), whether his statement that the United States Institute of Medicine (IOM) was then reviewing the findings of the Congressionally-mandated US Research Advisory Committee’s inquiry into Gulf War Illnesses and that he expected the IOM to report in February 2010 took account of all information readily available; and whether they are revising his statement and will be informing the House accordingly.”


A little opinionated

• To ask HMG what steps you are going to take for the adverse effect of comercialisation and marketisation that will fragment patient care and erode the NHS’ ethical and cooperative founding and it will not deliver efficiency, quality, fairness or choice.


Nice and neutral

• To ask HMG what steps they are going to take to protect the public from any adverse effects arising from commercialisation and marketisation within the National Health Service.

House of Lords Parliamentary Questions

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