Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question
To ask the Leader of the House what steps he is taking to encourage members to keep supplementary questions short and succinct.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
I agree with the noble Lord that members should aim to keep their contributions concise and, in accordance with the Companion, confined to no more than two points. This enables as many peers from across the House as possible the opportunity to scrutinise the Government.
It is the responsibility of the whole House to work collectively on this issue and I am sure the usual channels will make every effort to ensure their members keep to this standard of practice. In June 2022 the usual channels wrote collectively to all members to remind them of these rules and the courtesies of the House more generally.
I will also remind colleagues of the importance of ministers providing succinct answers to questions, in accordance with the practice of the House, to enable the House to operate in the most effective manner including the recommendation that initial answers should be no more than 75 words.