HOUSE OF COMMONS SESSIONAL DIARY 2009–10 19 November 2009 to 8 April 2010 Prepared in the Journal Office of the House of Commons INTRODUCTION 1. This diary records the business on which the House spent its time in Session 2009–10, analysed into categories, and similar information for sittings in Westminster Hall. It is intended mainly to provide information in response to statistical inquiries, and in using it the following points should be borne in mind: (a) The diary does not include business which took little or no time, such as presentations of bills, unopposed private business, and motions agreed to without debate or division. (b) Divisions are normally included with the business to which they relate. (c) Timings are taken from the Official Report, using the printed times where available, and otherwise taking a column of debate to last three minutes. Daily prayers are assumed to last a standard five minutes (and are not itemised in the analysis), and the time at which the House rose is taken from the Votes and Proceedings. (d) Periods of suspension are included in the total sitting time, and are listed in section 14h of the analysis (Miscellaneous). However, the 2½-hour suspension from 11.30 to 14.00 in Westminster Hall on most Tuesdays and Wednesdays (introduced on 1 January 2003) is shown in brackets in the “Duration” column and is left out of the totals. Other suspensions in Westminster Hall are included in the totals and in the analysis under section 5. (e) The times in the column headed “After appointed time” refer to business taken after the time appointed as the “moment of interruption”. In Session 2008–09, these times were as follows: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 2200 2200 *1900 1800 1430 * 2200 on the day of the State Opening of Parliament and immediately following a periodic adjournment. (f) All times are in hours and minutes, using the 24-hour clock. 2. A Sessional Diary has been kept in the Journal Office for most sessions since 1906, although in the early years times were kept only to the nearest quarter hour. An analysis substantially in the current form begins in the 1960s. The totals from the analysis have been reproduced in the Sessional Information Digest since 1984–85 and in the House’s Sessional Returns since 1987–88. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS AND TOTALS Part Contents Duration After Page appoin-ted time I Diary for House 1 II Analysis for House 540.12 47.19 1. Addresses other than Prayers 37.57 0.46 49 2. Government bills 156.00 9.50 a Second readings: committed to standing 29.52 0.42 49 committee b Second readings: committal to Committee of 26.39 1.54 49 whole House (wholly or partly) c Second readings: no committal (Consolidation — — bills) d Committee of the whole House 38.08 3.57 50 e Consideration 42.04 — 50 f Third reading 9.10 0.54 51 g Lords amendments 5.49 1.22 51 h Allocation of time motions 4.18 1.01 51 i Committal and carry-over motions — — 3. Private Members’ bills 24.24 0.07 a Second readings (and all stages) 18.28 0.07 52 b Later stages 5.56 — 52 4. Private bills at time for opposed private business 7.32 — 53 5. Government motions 56.11 1.58 a European Union documents 2.56 0.13 53 b Business motions 3.55 — 53 c General 19.10 1.44 53 d General debates 24.13 0.01 54 e Topical debates 5.57 — 54 6. Opposition business 36.17 2.11 a Opposition days 36.17 2.11 54 b Opposition motions in Government time — — 7. Private Members’ motions 4.29 0.25 a Substantive motions 0.46 0.25 55 b Ten-minute rule motions 3.43 — 55 8. Adjournment motions 40.30 24.42 a Government — — b Recess 5.37 — 55 c S.O. No. 24 debates — — iii Part Contents Duration After Page appoin-ted time d Daily 34.53 24.42 55 9. Estimates 11.10 0.06 57 10. Money Resolutions 1.53 0.15 57 11. Ways and Means 25.22 1.39 58 12. Affirmative Statutory Instruments 16.31 2.04 58 13. Negative Statutory Instruments — — 14. Business when no Question before House 116.18 3.16 a Questions 46.52 — 59 b Topical Questions 12.19 — 60 c Urgent Questions 5.03 — 61 d Statements 24.52 — 62 e Business Statements 11.57 — 63 f S.O. No. 24 Applications — — g Points of order 5.22 0.41 64 h Public petitions 3.04 2.35 73 i Miscellaneous 6.49 — 76 15. Daily prayers 5.38 — 76 III Diary for Westminster Hall 77 IV Analysis for Westminster Hall 166.39 — 1. Private Members’ Adjournment Debates 136.37 — 78 2. Government Adjournment Debates 9.01 — 81 3. Liaison Committee Adjournment Debates 17.10 — 81 4. Questions — — 5. Miscellaneous 3.51 — 81 iv PART I: DIARY FOR HOUSE 1 PART I: DIARY FOR HOUSE Time Subject Duration After appointed time 1. Wednesday 18 November 2009 11.25 Prayers 0.06 11.31 Suspension 2.59 14.30 Address: [1st Day] 7.28 21.58 Adjournment: Siobhain McDonagh: Training of nurses 0.29 0.27 22.27 House rose [Totals for session: 11.02; 0.27] 11.02 0.27 2. Thursday 19 November 2009 10.30 Prayers 0.03 10.33 Business Statement: 0.51 11.24 Address: [2nd Day] 0.30 11.54 Point of Order: Peter Bottomley: Asking whether it would be possible to remove 0.01 extra electrons from the Secretary of State, rendering him less negative. 11.55 Address: [2nd Day] [resumed] 5.38 17.33 Petition: Mike Penning: Equitable Life (Hemel Hempstead) 0.01 17.34 Adjournment: Chloe Smith: Norwich Northern Distributor Road 0.22 17.56 House rose [Totals for session: 18.28; 0.27] 7.26 0.00 3. Monday 23 November 2009 14.30 Prayers 0.03 14.33 Statement: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 0.32 (Hilary Benn): Flooding (Cumbria) 15.05 Point of Order: Mr Frank Field: asking whether votes on the Queen’s Speech 0.01 could allow the opportunity to vote on Afghanistan. 15.06 Address: [3rd Day] 6.54 22.00 Adjournment: Dr Vincent Cable: Cowboy Builders 0.28 0.28 22.28 House rose [Totals for session: 26.26; 0.55] 7.58 0.28 2 SESSIONAL DIARY, 2009–10 Time Subject Duration After appointed time 4. Tuesday 24 November 2009 14.30 Prayers 0.05 14.35 Questions: Health 0.40 15.15 Topical Questions: Health 0.19 15.34 Points of Order: Mr Bernard Jenkin: asking whether the Speaker would ensure 0.04 there was an opportunity to debate the report from the Committee on the Reform of the House of Commons. Ann Clwyd: asking whether the Speaker could arrange for the Chilcot Inquiry to be shown on the annunciators. Dr Evan Harris: asking whether the Speaker had heard from the Leader that she was planning to revise the provisional business to allow more time for debate on the report stage of the Equality Bill. 15.38 Address: [4th Day] 6.22 22.00 Public Petition: Gregory Barker: Equitable Life (Bexhill and Battle) 0.01 0.01 22.01 Adjournment: Mike Gapes: Future of King George Hospital, Ilford 0.28 0.28 22.29 House rose [Totals for session: 34.25; 1.24] 7.59 0.29 5. Wednesday 25 November 2009 11.30 Prayers 0.05 11.35 Questions: Scotland (29); Prime Minister (30) 0.57 12.32 Statement: Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr Alistair Darling): Indemnity to 0.46 Bank of England 13.18 Statement: Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Jim Murphy): Scotland’s future in 0.42 the UK 14.00 Point of Order: Mr Mark Harper: asking whether the Deputy Speaker could act 0.01 to ensure sufficient time was made available to debate the Equality Bill. 14.01 Address: [5th Day] 0.01 14.02 Point of Order: Mr Frank Field: asking whether the Deputy Speaker would relay 0.01 to the Speaker the view that the House should debate an amendable motion on Afghanistan. 14.03 Address: [5th Day] [resumed] [Division] 5.14 0.17 19.17 Public Petitions: Andrew Selous: Future of Small Shops 0.01 0.01 19.18 Public Petition: Mr Mike Hancock: Equitable Life (Portsmouth South) 0.02 0.02 19.20 Adjournment: Mr Tim Yeo: Adoption and custody of children in Suffolk 0.25 0.25 19.45 House rose [Totals for session: 42.40; 2.09] 8.15 0.45 PART I: DIARY FOR HOUSE 3 Time Subject Duration After appointed time 6. Thursday 26 November 2009 10.30 Prayers 0.05 10.35 Questions: Church Commissioners (8); Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral 0.56 Commission (3); Church Commissioners (2); Public Accounts Commission (2); Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission (3); Solicitor-General (20); Leader of the House (12); House of Commons Commission (2); Leader of the House (5); House of Commons Commission (3) 11.31 Business Statement 0.56 12.27 Points of Order: Mrs Caroline Spelman: asking whether there would be an oral 0.12 statement on the local government finance settlement (Leader of House replied on the invitation of the Speaker). Mr Andrew Mackay: asking whether it was in order for Mr MacShane to have referred to a Member of the Lords as “corrupt”, during debate. Mr Edward Leigh: asking whether he could write to the Speaker relating to the issue of an indemnity about which he had not been informed (Chancellor of the Exchequer replied on the invitation of the Speaker).