– in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 20 Hydref 1969.
Mr Jack Diamond
, Gloucester
With your permission, Mr. Speaker, and that of the House. I wish to make a statement about the supply of Government publications to Parliament and members of the public.
Owing to unofficial industrial action in the London presses and binderies of Her Majesty's Stationery Office, there is interference with the supply of parliamentary and other papers. HANSARD cannot be printed, but it is hoped that other papers necessary for the business of the House will be available.
Mr Reginald Maudling
, Barnet
It is obviously disturbing that, once again, the supply of parliamentary papers has been interrupted, this time, I believe, for another cause, not distributing, but binding and printing. Without going into the merits of the dispute perhaps I might ask the Minister a question about this. The right hon. Gentleman says it is hoped that papers necessary for the business of the house will be available in one form or another. What do the Government regard as necessary papers, and what will they do if they are not available?
Mr Jack Diamond
, Gloucester
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for recognising that this dispute stems from a different set of causes. The answer to his first question is that with the exception of HANSARD all papers necessary for parliamentary business during the remainder of this Session will, I think, be made available.
The answer to the right hon. Gentleman's further question is that as far as I am aware from consultation with my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House there should be no interruption of, and so no undue difficulty with, business for the rest of this Session. There will be minor inconvenience in connection with some of the papers, but I am grateful to those concerned who have made it possible for hon. Members to refer to typescript copies Of HANSARD in the Library.
Mr Stan Orme
, Salford West
Is it not a fact that on this occasion the workers on strike are from the lower-paid section of this industry? Is not this symptomatic of the general problem which is arising among lower-paid workers? Will my right hon. Friend draw the attention of the Chancellor of the exchequer to this problem? Perhaps we might have a different attitude from the Government to lower-paid workers.
Mr Jack Diamond
, Gloucester
I cannot say that, for the simple reason that there are two unions involved, one of which is working, and the other is not, and the same rates of pay are available to both.
Mr Jack Diamond
, Gloucester
Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will draw that to the attention of his right hon. Friend the Member for Barnet (Mr. Maudling), who asked an entirely different question.
Dr Horace King
, Southampton, Itchen
May I add, for the convenience of the House, that I hope that it will be possible to-morrow to produce an Order Paper in the same form as today's, but with Questions for Written Answer also included.
In addition, it is hoped that a Notice Paper will be available comprising notices of Questions and Motions handed in on Friday and today, but not additional names to existing Motions. I advise hon. Members that it may not be possible to include in either paper any notices which are received after 6 o'clock this evening.
The Speaker is an MP who has been elected to act as Chairman during debates in the House of Commons. He or she is responsible for ensuring that the rules laid down by the House for the carrying out of its business are observed. It is the Speaker who calls MPs to speak, and maintains order in the House. He or she acts as the House's representative in its relations with outside bodies and the other elements of Parliament such as the Lords and the Monarch. The Speaker is also responsible for protecting the interests of minorities in the House. He or she must ensure that the holders of an opinion, however unpopular, are allowed to put across their view without undue obstruction. It is also the Speaker who reprimands, on behalf of the House, an MP brought to the Bar of the House. In the case of disobedience the Speaker can 'name' an MP which results in their suspension from the House for a period. The Speaker must be impartial in all matters. He or she is elected by MPs in the House of Commons but then ceases to be involved in party politics. All sides in the House rely on the Speaker's disinterest. Even after retirement a former Speaker will not take part in political issues. Taking on the office means losing close contact with old colleagues and keeping apart from all groups and interests, even avoiding using the House of Commons dining rooms or bars. The Speaker continues as a Member of Parliament dealing with constituent's letters and problems. By tradition other candidates from the major parties do not contest the Speaker's seat at a General Election. The Speakership dates back to 1377 when Sir Thomas Hungerford was appointed to the role. The title Speaker comes from the fact that the Speaker was the official spokesman of the House of Commons to the Monarch. In the early years of the office, several Speakers suffered violent deaths when they presented unwelcome news to the King. Further information can be obtained from factsheet M2 on the UK Parliament website.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
The order paper is issued daily and lists the business which will be dealt with during that day's sitting of the House of Commons.
It provides MPs with details of what will be happening in the House throughout the day.
It also gives details of when and where the standing committees and select committees of the Commons will be meeting.
Written questions tabled to ministers by MPs on the previous day are listed at the back of the order paper.
The order paper forms one section of the daily vote bundle and is issued by the Vote Office
