– in the House of Commons am 2:35 pm ar 7 Medi 2022.
Lloyd Russell-Moyle
Labour/Co-operative, Brighton, Kemptown
2:35,
7 Medi 2022
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Yesterday, all Members of the House received an email from the Home Office stating that, in future, in “the Majority of instances”, the Home Office will deal with our letters and correspondence
“by telephone to provide responses” and:
“Where this is not possible you will receive responses to multiple enquires in a single letter.”
First, I have grave concerns about that from a GDPR point of view—how can I respond to a constituent with a letter that mentions numerous constituents? Secondly, I have a concern about the Home Office not responding apart from orally, where we cannot then record what has been said on the telephone. Will you advise me, through your good offices, whether this is an appropriate response from the Home Office?
Rosie Winterton
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means)
I am delighted to say that the Leader of the House is going to help us out.
Penny Mordaunt
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I hear the hon. Gentleman and will take this issue up with the Home Office. I know that it is very keen to get replies back, particularly on very pressing constituent issues and systems that have been under great strain. However, I very much understand that the quality and timeliness of departmental correspondence is of immense importance to us all in being able to carry out our jobs. I have already had conversations with the new Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster about how we can undertake continuous improvement on this issue. We take this very seriously and I will raise this matter.
Rosie Winterton
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means)
I thank the Leader of the House for that very helpful response. I am sure that she will come back with further information, perhaps during one of the business statements.
The Deputy speaker is in charge of proceedings of the House of Commons in the absence of the Speaker.
The deputy speaker's formal title is Chairman of Ways and Means, one of whose functions is to preside over the House of Commons when it is in a Committee of the Whole House.
The deputy speaker also presides over the Budget.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
The Chancellor - also known as "Chancellor of the Exchequer" is responsible as a Minister for the treasury, and for the country's economy. For Example, the Chancellor set taxes and tax rates. The Chancellor is the only MP allowed to drink Alcohol in the House of Commons; s/he is permitted an alcoholic drink while delivering the budget.