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7.1 When Parliament is in session, the most important announcements of Government policy should be made, in the first instance, in Parliament. Even when Government announcements are not of major importance their timing may require careful consideration in order to avoid clashes with other Government publications, statements or announcements or with the planned Parliamentary business. The Leader of the House of Commons, the Chief Whip and the No 10 Press Office should be given as long an opportunity as possible, and wherever possible at least two working days, to comment on the content and timing of all important Government announcements, whether in the form of a Written Ministerial Statement or an oral statement in Parliament, White Paper or press conference. Whenever possible they should also be shown the draft announcement in advance.
7.2 If too many announcements are made by oral statement at the end of Questions, Parliamentary business could be hindered. Nevertheless, careful consideration should be given in the case of important or particularly sensitive issues to the desirability of making an oral statement rather than an announcement by Written Ministerial Statement. Ministers proposing to make a statement after Questions (whether or not it is related to a Question on the order paper) or to answer a Question by leave at the end of Questions or to make an important announcement by means of a Written Ministerial Statement are therefore asked to conform with the following procedure:
a. as much notice as possible of the intention to make an announcement should be given to (i) the Prime Minister's Private Secretary; (ii) the Private Secretary to the Leader of the House of Commons; (iii) the Private Secretary to the Chief Whip ; (iv) the No 10 Press Office. This notification should indicate the broad content of the proposed announcement; if necessary, why an oral statement is thought to be appropriate; and an indication whether the policy with which it is concerned has been approved by Ministers, including references to relevant discussions in Cabinet or Cabinet Committees. If agreement in principle is given, a draft of the oral statement or Written Ministerial Statement should be circulated to the same recipients as soon as possible, having been approved in broad terms, though not necessarily in detail, by the Minister in charge of the Department. Draft statements or answers should be accompanied by background notes which identify the likely points of attack and suggest how these can best be met;
b. in the case of announcements by Written Ministerial Statement, particular care must be taken to avoid making a press announcement before the Written Ministerial Statement has been made available to the House. Written Ministerial Statements can be made after 9.30am each day. On a Monday where there is an accompanying document which needs to be laid before both Houses, the Written Ministerial Statement can be made after 11.30am . When making an announcement Written Ministerial Statements should be issued in both Houses.
7.3 Ministers should not give undertakings, either in or outside the House of Commons, that an oral statement will be made to the House on any subject at a specific time or within a particular period until agreement has been given by the Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister, the Leader of the House of Commons and the Chief Whip, to the proposed timing and by the Ministers concerned to the terms of the statement.
7.4 Ministers will be conscious of the pressures of other Parliamentary business when deciding on the timing of statements. For example, on Thursdays a considerable amount of Parliamentary time after Questions is already pre-empted by discussion of the following week's business. It is also desirable, except in special circumstances, to avoid oral statements on Fridays:
a. copies of the final version of such announcements should be sent to the Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister, the Leader of the House and the Chief Whip and to the No 10 Press Office as soon as they are available;
b. a copy of the text of any oral statement to be made at the end of Questions should usually be shown to the Opposition Parties shortly before it is made. For this purpose fifteen extra copies of the final text must reach the office of the Chief Whip in the House of Commons as early as possible and in any case not later than 2.45 pm (Monday and Tuesday), 11.45 am (Wednesday), 10.45 am (Thursday) or 10.15 am (Friday) on the day on which the statement is to be made;
c. a copy of the final text of an oral statement should in all cases be sent in advance to the Speaker;
d. the texts of oral statements should be made available in the Vote Office as soon as the Minister responsible for making the statement stands up. However, there may be occasions when this will not be possible, for example, for reasons of market confidentiality (e.g. the Budget). All advance copies will be released on the assumption that Ministers can and will make changes to the statements up to and including the point when they are at the Despatch Box;
e. every effort must be made to ensure that where a former Minister or a Ministerial colleagues and/or a fellow MP is mentioned in a statement or report which prompts a Ministerial statement, he or she is given as much notice as is reasonably possible. The current practice is that those concerned should be given a copy of the report on the morning of the announcement;
f. both the Leader and the Chief Whip of the House of Lords should be informed of a forthcoming oral statement in the House of Commons and consulted about the desirability of repeating it in the Lords;
g. a copy of any important Ministerial statement as actually delivered should be placed as quickly as possible in the Library of the House. This gives Members an opportunity of studying it in advance of publication in the Official Report.
7.5 Every effort should be made to avoid leaving significant announcements to the last day before a Recess.
7.6 A Minister in charge of an item of business in the House of Commons must ensure that reasonable numbers of copies of any documents published during the last two Sessions which may be needed for the debate are placed in the Vote Office and is responsible for supplying the House of Commons Library in advance with a list of all those older papers which the Minister considers relevant to the item. When any document is out of print the Minister should decide whether or not a reprint is required. Where any doubt exists about the need for any document to be available for a debate the Minister's Private Secretary should consult the Chief Whip 's Private Secretary. Similar arrangements should be made with the Chief Whip 's or the Leader's offices for debates in the House of Lords.
7.7 All Money Resolutions are placed on the order paper in the name of the Financial Secretary, Treasury. But he or she is not responsible for seeing a Resolution through the House of Commons. It has always been the practice (as for Civil Estimates) that, although Resolutions appear in the name of the Financial Secretary, the Minister having Departmental responsibility for the relevant Bill is also responsible for the Money Resolution in the House of Commons.
7.8 Any Minister or Parliamentary Private Secretary who receives a copy of a Select Committee Report in advance of publication [excluding copies sent to Departments at the Confidential Final Revise (CFR) stage] should make no use of them and should return them without delay to the Clerk of the Committee. Civil servants, including Special Advisers, are also covered by this ruling.
7.9 In order to avoid any conflict of interest, Ministers on taking up office, should give up membership or chairmanship of a Select Committee or All Party Parliamentary Groups. This is to avoid any risk of criticism that a Minister is seeking to influence the Parliamentary process. Ministers must also avoid being drawn into a situation whereby their membership of a Committee could result in the belief that Ministerial support is being given to a particular policy or funding proposal.