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Last updated: 07 May 2010
8.1 Ministers are bound by the Ministerial Code to make important announcements, such as a change of policy, to Parliament first when the House is sitting. The rights of Parliament are jealously guarded and the Speaker has complained to Ministers on occasions when announcements have been made to the media first. The Speaker may summon a Minister to the House to explain his or her actions.
8.2 Ministers can make announcements to the House by an oral statement or a written ministerial statement.
8.3 There is no explicit provision in standing orders for the procedure of making an oral statement, but it is a regular feature of the parliamentary day. These statements cover announcement of major Government policy but can also include such circumstances as the dissolution of parliament or announcing the legislative proposals intended to be submitted to Parliament. When Parliament is in session, the most important announcements of Government policy should be made in the first instance, in Parliament. Generally, they are made in the House of Commons first and repeated in the House of Lords.
8.4 The right to make a statement is treated as a prerogative of Ministers and neither the permission of the Speaker, nor the leave of the House is required. However, statements are introduced with the words “with permission” out of courtesy to the Chair. Statements may relate to any area of a Minister’s responsibilities. It is down to the Government to decide which Minister makes any particular Statement. Within Government, it is the role of the House of Commons Business Managers to manage which statements are made, their timing and, where necessary, the order in which they will be made.
8.5 The Speaker has discretion to treat substantive interventions on points of orders made by Ministers as statements, so that questions may be raised on them and replies given.
8.6 Statements must last no longer than 10 minutes (approximately 1,200 words). The time allowed for supplementary questions is a matter for the Chair but generally allow up to one hour is allowed, depending on the number of Members who wish to ask supplementary questions and the other business of that day.
8.7 The Business Managers (BMs) meet weekly so that statements can be considered alongside the business to be announced on Thursday for the following two weeks. The decision on whether to allow a ministerial statement is taken in consultation with No 10. Occasionally, a Minister will wish to make a statement, the case for which is not accepted by the business managers. This could be for business reasons and very occasionally because the statement would not warrant the time on the floor of the House, thereby ‘de-valuing’ the significant importance of Ministerial Statements. (Conversely, Business Managers may suggest a Minister make a statement if an issue appears to be of significant importance). In the event that BMs do not accept a bid for a statement, other options may be considered, including making a Written Ministerial Statement or changing the timing of the statement. Ultimately, an oral statement cannot be made without the agreement of the Business Managers. It is the responsibility of the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons to confirm the correct title and Minister to the Speaker’s office and the annunciators by 09.30 on the day of a statement. It is the responsibility of the relevant department to ensure that copies of the statement are made available to the Speaker's Office, the Press Gallery and Members.
8.8 When a statement is delivered to the Speaker’s Office it is important to consider that the Speaker will need to be appraised of those Members who have a specific interest in the issue. If the department has considered which Members are most affected by the statement this should be notified to the Speaker’s Office, as should details of any areas or constituencies affected, for example by pilot projects.
8.9 In June 2008, the then Speaker confirmed in a statement that copies of Ministerial Statements should be made available to Members in the Chamber as soon as the Minister sits down. Copies should therefore be delivered to the Vote Office in advance, clearly labelled and embargoed for when the Secretary of State sits down.
8.10 Copies of any documents referred to in the statement, such as a White Paper or consultation paper, must be made available to MPs at the same time (but note that Command Papers must be available in the Vote Office shortly after being laid1)
8.11 As a matter of courtesy, departments normally copy statements to the opposition spokespersons, via the Government Whips office, about an hour before the statement is made. A point of order on this issue was raised on 27 Feb 2002 to which Mr. Speaker replied “It is not a rule of the House but a courtesy that Ministers give as much warning as possible of any statement that they are going to make. I encourage Ministers to do that. If there is any difficulty or short notice in future, I can use my discretion, but I would rather encourage Ministers to give out their statements well in advance.”
8.12 Copies are also made available to the press gallery when the Secretary of State sits down. Speakers have deprecated the practice of informing the media about the content of statements before they have been made to the House. For example, in a Speakers Statement on 30 Jan 2003 it was said that “Hon. Members have raised with me their concerns that the substance of ministerial statements has been reported in the media before being presented to this House. …. I have made it clear, both from this Chair and in meetings with Ministers, that it is of fundamental importance for the proper functioning of Parliament that this House is the first to hear of important developments in Government policy. I recognise the pressures and difficulties that often face Ministers as a result of press speculation about forthcoming statements. My impression, nevertheless, is that in general Ministers recognise and comply with the convention that I have enunciated.”
8.13 Notice on the day of the statement is, wherever possible, given to Members on the day by means of notices placed in the Members’ lobby and displayed on the annunciator. Notice may also be given to the Table office in advance by the office of the Leader of the House so that the title appears in future business and/or on the Order Paper. The Government retain the freedom to make statements without prior notice having been given in this way and, if necessary, not to proceed with a statement of which prior notice has been given. It is important that the title of statements is not political or in the form of a slogan. If referring to a document it is normally better to give notice of “Publication of xxxxx” to help avoid this problem. The Table Office will always advise departments on acceptable titles.
8.14 The timing of a statement will be planned through discussion between the relevant department, No 10 and the Business Managers. It is sometimes necessary, however, to arrange for a statement to be made at short notice. This is usually in response to a specific incident or growing concern.
8.15 Statements take place at a set time during the parliamentary week. Statements would normally be made at 15.30 on Monday and Tuesday and 12.30 on Wednesday and Thursday (following the business questions). Statements on Fridays are not common (please see section below). Exceptionally, statements, including statements on future business, have been permitted by the Speaker, in urgent circumstances, at other times. These can only take place with the approval of the Speaker (as well as BMs). These include;
8.16 Where it is necessary for more than one statement to be made on the same day it is usual for the departments to arrange the order based on the significance of the statement. Should they be unable to agree the Business Managers, in the absence of other factors, would arrange for the senior ranking Minister to appear first. When other statements are planned for Thursdays the Leader may decide to allow these to take precedence over business, depending on their importance. The Business Question is then taken after other statements and itself becomes a statement (as opposed to a question), although the format is otherwise unaffected.
8.17 On Fridays, under S.O. 11(4), Statements are made at 11am, when the debate taking place is interrupted to allow for the statement and resumed on its conclusion. The Government avoids making statements whenever possible on Fridays.
8.18 Where a Statement is made first in the House of Lords, the timing of the repeat in the Commons is a matter for negotiation with Commons business managers.
8.19 By convention, statements are avoided on Opposition days. A Speakers statement in response to a point of order on government statements on opposition days stated that “The right hon. Gentleman was kind enough to remind me of Erskine May, and I have consulted page 307, which states: "Prior notice to the Speaker is necessary, but neither his permission nor the leave of the House is required" to make a Government statement. The usual channels will take note that I would prefer it if, on Opposition Supply days, we do not have Government statements. That is the best comfort that I can provide to the right hon. Gentleman”2. It is also generally not appropriate to make planned Oral Statements at some other times. For example, during the debate which follows the Queens Speech at the start of each session.
8.20 The Speaker may also make statements to the House on matters of procedure or practice. The Speaker also makes statements in connection with arrangements for ceremonial occasions, the retirement of senior officials of the House, etc. The Speaker is not obliged to inform the Government of the substance of any statement he makes in advance.
8.21 Sometimes used as a substitute for making an Oral statement, a Minister may decide to defer answering an oral question until the end of question time. A Minister may also elect to give an oral answer at that time to any question for written answer which stands on the order paper for that day. This is done in cases where a question requires, or provides an opportunity for, a more extended answer, which might otherwise have taken the form of a Ministerial statement.
8.22 Oral Statements in the Lords can be made with the leave of the House without notice. Usually, the responsible Minister is a Member of the Commons, in which case the statement is repeated in the Lords. The timing of any repeated Statement is agreed through the Usual Channels in the Lords, and the Chief Whip can announce the timing in the Chamber. Any repeat of a Commons statement cannot start until after the statement has begun in the Commons. The formulation for starting any repeated statement is “My Lords, with the leave of the House I will now repeat a statement made in the Other Place earlier today by [xxxxx]”. The text of the statement is then repeated verbatim from the Commons.
8.23 If the responsible Minister is a Member of the House of Lords, the statement must be made in the Lords first (and if necessary, repeated in the Commons). This usually happens immediate after Oral Questions (Monday to Thursday) or at the start of business on a Friday. Any Lords Statement should begin “My Lords, with the leave of the House I will now make a statement on [xxxx].”
8.24 After the statement has been made (or repeated) to the House, the two Opposition front benches (and occasionally the Convenor of the Crossbench Peers) will speak, and then the Minister should reply. The Opposition Frontbench speeches and the Minister’s reply should take no more than 20 minutes in all. There then follows a period of questions and answers for backbench members, for up to 20 minutes.
8.25 Statements made or repeated in the Lords should be made available in the Printed Paper Office and to the Opposition on the same basis as statements made in the Commons. The Government Whips Office can give guidance on this.
8.26 Under Standing Order No 22A a Minister of the Crown, being a Member of the House of Commons, may give notice of his intention to make a written ministerial statement, and that it will be printed in the Official Report not later than five sitting days after that notice. In the House of Lords, written statements may be made when the house is sitting by Ministers or the Chairman of Committees. Notice is not required.
8.27 It is not necessary to issue a WMS to accompany the laying of a Command Paper or departmental minute etc, as these will appear in the Votes and Proceedings in any case. However, a department may wish to do this if it is of significant importance to warrant a WMS.
8.28 Notice can be given up to five sitting days in advance of issuing the statement. This information will then appear in future business of the order paper. Notice may be given up until the rise of the House the day before issuing the statement. The title of the statement should simply indicate the subject matter. If giving notice earlier than the day before a WMS is to be issued, Departments should be aware that the title will be on the Order Paper and in the public domain. Although it is possible not to issues a planned statement, it is good practice to give notice only when a final decision has been made.
8.29 Written statements should be issued at 9.30am. Every effort should be made to issue written statements as early in the day as possible and normally by 12.30pm. There will be circumstances when statements cannot be issued at 12.30pm. If this happens, the department should endeavour to notify the Chair of the relevant Select Committee and/or any other Member with an interest. Where it is necessary to delay the issue of a statement the Opposition front bench spokespersons should be informed. On Thursdays, the office of the Leader of the House must be informed if a written statement is not issued by the time of the Business Statement.
8.30 Copies of written statements should be issued to the Library and Hansard electronically. Paper copies to the Press Gallery, Vote Office and Printed Paper Office. Copies for Hansard should not be included with answers to PQs. Copies for the Library should be handed to a member of staff and not dropped in a pigeon hole. All copies should be clearly marked “Written Statement”.
8.31 Notice of a written statement may be withdrawn in advance of the day set for the statement by re-sending the notification to the table office with it annotated “Withdrawn”, signed and dated. If the department chooses not to make the statement but too late to withdraw it, it should replace the statement as planned with a short statement that the planned statement will not be made.
1. Speaker’s ruling 25 March 2009
2. Official Report (2003-03) vol 406, cc701
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