Questions to non-ministerial Members

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22.10Questions may be addressed to the following private Members (ie Members who do not hold ministerial posts): the Member answering on behalf of the Church Commissioners, the Chair of the Public Accounts Commission, the Members answering on behalf of the House of Commons Commission, the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body, and the Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission, and the Members answering on behalf of the Speaker's Committees on the Electoral Commission and the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. In the absence of the spokesperson nominated to answer on behalf of a body, another member of that body has been allowed to answer on its behalf.A1 It has become the practice for the Member answering on behalf of the House of Commons Commission to answer questions which might formerly have been tabled to the Chairs of the House's domestic committees.1 It is currently the practice of the Government to provide a place on the rota for oral questions to Members answering on behalf of the Church Commissioners, the House of Commons Commission, the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body and the Public Accounts Commission. Written questions may be tabled to the Members answering on behalf of the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, and the Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission.

Footnotes

  1. 1. HC Deb (1991–92) 203, cc 454–55W; ibid (1992–93) 218, c 183W. Occasionally, questions have been addressed to other select committee Chairs, ibid (1983–84) 53, c 298W. For further details, see Erskine May (23rd edn, 2004), p 345.
  2. A1. HC Deb (2017–19) 639, c 1012. Ministers and members of the Official Opposition front bench have been allowed to answer in the absence of a spokesperson, acting in their capacity as a member of the body to which the question was addressed. HC Deb (2017–19) 654, cc 1594–95; ibid (2021–22) 78, cc 387–90.