Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, if she will require Departments to publish an estimate of the cost of answering a Written Parliamentary Question in cases where disproportionate cost is cited as a reason for not providing a substantive answer.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
It is a matter for individual departments to determine how to respond to parliamentary questions from Members. In responding to questions, Ministers should be as open as possible and provide helpful answers to Members.
The Guide to Parliamentary Work (available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work), published by my office, sets out guidance for departments in responding to parliamentary questions and the disproportionate cost threshold. There are no plans to change this.
The Guide states that “Where information is being refused on the grounds of disproportionate cost, there should be a presumption that any of the requested information which is readily available should be provided.”
I encourage Hon. Members to raise any specific issues they may have with myself and my office.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, if she will publish a list of the statutory instruments made since the last general election and set out the provisions in the parent act of Parliament which are relied upon to provide statutory authority for the making of that statutory instrument by 22 July 2025.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The information requested can be found at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, if she will make an estimate of the number of Government announcements which were made in the House of Commons prior to a Ministerial announcement in the media since July 2024.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Ministerial Code is clear, when Parliament is in session the most important announcements of Government policy should be made in the first instance to Parliament. This is an important principle that the government stands by.
As of 9th July 2025 there have been 185 oral statements in 165 sitting days – more than one per day and more than in the previous session.
While the Government remains committed to making the most important announcements on the floor of the House, we do need to balance this with the time available for both government and backbench business.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, whether she plans to implement the recommendations of the Third Report of Session 2024-25 of the Standards Committee, Register of Interests of Members' Staff, published on 12 June 2025, HC 943.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
I have responded to the Committee on Standards, welcoming its report (HC 943) and confirming that the relevant motion will be brought forward in due course for the approval of the House.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what her planned timeline is for implementing recommendations arising from the Modernisation Committees Review.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Modernisation Committee has not held a Review. The Modernisation Committee held a “call for views” between October and December 2024, seeking views on what it should prioritise for reform. In February 2025, it published the results of this exercise in a document entitled “Next steps for the Modernisation Committee following the Call for Views”, which is available on the Committee’s website. This document outlines the work the Committee is already undertaking.
On outside interests and employment, the Modernisation Committee has asked the Committee on Standards to undertake an inquiry, which is currently underway. The timeline for this inquiry is in the hands of the Committee on Standards.
The Modernisation Committee is also involved in discussions to take forward recommendation 3 from Paul Kernaghan’s review of the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme.
Following my request, the Procedure Committee is undertaking an inquiry on proxy voting, including on whether proxy voting arrangements for serious long-term illness and injury should be made permanent. In addition, the Procedure Committee has announced inquiries into call lists and electronic voting, both of which were frequently raised topics in the call for views. The timelines for these inquiries are in the hands of the Procedure Committee.
The next steps document also sets out three new packages of work that the Modernisation Committee is pursuing. The first is on improving accessibility for MPs, staff and the public. On 20 March 2025, the Committee launched an inquiry on this topic, which is currently taking oral evidence and which is expected to result in a report, with recommendations, in the autumn. The other two packages of work are on effective use of time in the Commons, and on creating more certainty about the timing and nature of parliamentary business. There is no fixed timeline, but work is ongoing and updates will be issued as it progresses.
The Committee continues to work closely with key stakeholders, including the Speaker and Deputy Speakers, whips, smaller parties and other committees.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what guidance she has issued on when there should be pre-legislative scrutiny of Bills that have constitutional implications.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Chapter 21 of the Guide to Making Legislation sets out the broad principles and process by which a bill is considered for publication in draft for pre-legislative scrutiny. Decisions in relation to whether a bill is published in draft are taken on a case by case basis in the broader context of the overall legislative programme.
Asked by: Cat Eccles (Labour - Stourbridge)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, when she plans to provide parliamentary time for the House to debate the Pathways to Work Green Paper.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The House has had a number of opportunities to discuss the Pathways to Work Green Paper, including:
I am committed to providing time in the Chamber to the Backbench Business Committee and I would encourage the Hon. Member to apply for a debate through the Committee if they so wish. In addition, Members will have the opportunity to debate reform of the health and disability benefits system when measures are brought forward in due course.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing electronic voting for divisions in the House of Commons.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
This is a matter for the House to consider. The Hon. Member may wish to note that the Procedure Committee is currently undertaking an inquiry into electronic voting. The Government recently submitted written evidence to that inquiry (available at: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8885/electronic-voting/publications/written-evidence/) and he may wish to respond directly to the Committee's call for evidence.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, if she will ensure that a (a) full debate takes place in and (b) divisible motion is agreed by the House of Commons before deploying UK ground forces to Ukraine.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
There is a longstanding convention on war powers which this government respects.
I refer the Hon. Member to the words of the Prime Minister on 3rd March 2025 during the statement on Ukraine (available at: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2025-03-03).
The Prime Minister (Official report, col.28)
"We will, of course, put details before the House when we get to that stage—if we get to that stage."
The Prime Minister (Official report, col.38)
"My position on the sustained deployment of our troops is that this House would of course want to discuss that and vote on that, but we are nowhere near that stage at the moment."
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, if she will review the practices of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport on disclosing information under (a) FOI and (b) parliamentary question.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the response provided to his question 24243.
As I have previously said, I encourage Hon. Members to raise any specific issues they may have with myself.