The House of Lords, like the Commons, has a Question Time, though it differs in important respects from the Commons. In addition to oral questions, it is possible to table questions for written answer. The Government is expected to answer a written question within ten working days. Most Departments manage to do so, but following complaints…
We had a very useful debate yesterday on the working practices of the House. The debate was wide-ranging and enabled us to press the case for strengthening procedures for legislative and non-legislative scrutiny. There were some good proposals advanced and broad support for enhancing pre and post-legislative scrutiny, as well as enabling Bills introduced in…
In Question Time on Thursday, there was a question about taking steps to ensure that people over 60 are able to access the Internet. Towards the end, there was an interesting exchange: “Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate: My Lords, is my noble friend aware that, as a person over 60, I am continually bombarded with spam…
From Monday to Thursday, both Houses start business with Question Time. However, there are five ways in which Question Time in the Lords differs from that in the House of Commons. First, Question Time in the Lords lasts for no more than thirty minutes, compared with nearly one hour in the Commons. Second, only a…
