The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)
A revised “order of oral answers to questions” rota has been issued today, to cover the period when the House returns following the Easter recess.
It includes the following changes:
Topical questions have been introduced for the Cabinet Office and the Department for International Development. There will be a seven-minute slot for topical questions within their current total allocation of 30 minutes;
The amount of time allocated to the Deputy Prime Minister for questions has been increased to 40 minutes and, consequently, the length of time allocated for topical questions within this slot has been extended to 20 minutes. There will be an increase to 20 minutes for questions to the Attorney-General; and
As a consequence of the changes above, the days on which some questions are answered will move. Time allocated to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been reduced to 45 minutes.