Speeches by Williamson.

“Sorry, I meant when they come to the Committee.”

“There have been challenges with Members who have been using as a basis something that looks as if it is an intent and a direction of Ministers, and that not quite passing the bar. You make some important points about making sure that the question process is valid. If something is being reported in the media quite widel…”

“I just got very excited about the innovation that you were proposing on the PQ side of things. What if you were given a bit of freedom? On some days, business falls short—we could have a long debate about whether the Backbench Business Committee properly programmes things as well as it should do, but we had best not tr…”

“The Leader of the House makes an interesting point, but he also knows that I could put in an FOI request on the cat flap. You cannot really have a situation where there is a disparity. A Member should be able to establish that; otherwise, you are saying that Members should be less equal in their access to information.”

“Can I start by saying thank you? Don’t look too uneasy! As Back-Bench MPs we all appreciate the opportunity at business questions sometimes to use your good offices to give things a nudge and a bit of a help. Even though it probably sometimes feels a bit of a thankless task—especially for your officials, who then have …”

“Where are they now?”

“I think Members on both sides of the House are deeply appreciative of the work of civil servants right across the country. To pick up the point made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Herne Bay and Sandwich (Sir Roger Gale), we have a real issue here. There are pensioners in my constituency who have dedicated their…”

“I think we all very much welcomed the amazing work done by Lord Robertson, along with his team, including General Barrons and Fi Hill. How many of their 62 recommendations are the Government still committed to?”

“We often talk about bringing someone to the Bar of the House, although we never do. You could create a mechanism by which there is always someone coming to the Dispatch Box to explain.”

“I wonder whether I could ask your advice. I do apologise for arriving late, like a response from the FCDO to a written question. Mr Beech has put forward a number of suggestions about how you can pursue things. He is absolutely right. We all know that a lot of what goes on in Parliament is performative and is about fin…”

“Thank you ever so much.”

“In my constituency, this issue is of real concern to parents as well as children. Some of the big tech companies seem to resemble the big tobacco companies of the 1960s. We have had a great deal of briefing from the Government, and we have had an announcement that was not made in the House. Will the Minister commit him…”

“I thank the Minister for the work he has done. It was a pleasure to work with him when I was at the Department for Education, and it is great to see the development of his findings and the effort that has been put into them. The Minister raised the important issue of kinship care and the extra support going to local au…”

“Do you think there is a pattern of behaviour? Are certain Departments better than others, and some worse than others?”

“Do you find that the evasiveness of some Departments almost creates extra work? You touched on the fact that sometimes—you did not say this, but I have noticed it—there has been a deliberate mis-answering of the question that then causes you to have to go back. Do you find that often happens?”

“We wanted you to name a Minister—other people have done. Or a Department.”

“Do you think Government Departments deal with written parliamentary questions respectfully?”

“What improvements would you like to see in the way both the House and the Government deal with written questions?”

“You made a point that I thought was very interesting, Neil. We understand that some Departments just can’t give a straight answer because of secrecy, but I almost got the impression that you feel that sometimes people are unnecessarily evasive. Do you think some Departments almost take the approach that it is a game?”

“Do you think there is a pattern of behaviour? Are certain Departments better than others, and some worse than others?”