“We have heard the argument being put by some people, but you can’t make such a historic decision in response to short-term pressures,” he said.. Radical plans to end late-night sittings in the House of Commons are being drawn up by MPs in the most serious drive to date to make Parliament more “family friendly”. Radical plans to end late-night sittings in the House of Commons are being drawn up by MPs in the most serious drive to date to make Parliament more “family friendly”.
The Commons Modernisation Committee voted yesterday to seek proposals for reform that could lead to the Palace of Westminster having regular office hours for the first time. If the far-reaching reforms win approval in May, MPs could see their working day end at 7pm, with a final cut off at 10pm for emergencies.Members of all parties have pressed for change, and a petition calling for regular hours, signed by 187 MPs, is understood to have persuaded the committee to take action.MPs were furious that, since Christmas, there have been 32 sittings after midnight as the Government has tried to get its legislative programme through Parliament.And several of Labour’s women MPs with young children have announced that they would stand down at the next election because they cannot cope with Parliament’s late hours.Regular late-night votes and the lack of childcare facilities have prompted many to abandon their political careers to concentrate instead on looking after their families.Under the options ordered by the Modernisation Committee, the main political parties would agree to so-called programme motions to allot specific time for debates and votes. The regular use of programme motions would end the current situation where the timing of votes is uncertain because MPs can talk for hours to filibuster legislation.Unlike government enforced timetabling of Bills, which can be used to silence both Labour rebels and Tory opponents, the programming idea would allow time for criticism and proper scrutiny, its supporters claim.Electronic voting would also be introduced to speed the process and allow several votes to be taken at the same time.

Voting currently takes place by MPs physically walking through the voting lobby in the Commons, with each vote taking 20 minutes.At present, there is nothing to stop all-night sittings in the Commons and MPs are frequently kept up until 1am as opposition members attempt to ambush the Government with “guerrilla” tactics.However, Tory, Labour and Liberal Democrat members of the Modernisation Committee have agreed that it is in MPs’ interests to conduct more of their business during the day.The options for reform will be influenced by the success of the recent experiment to allow the House to sit from 11am to 7pm on Thursdays. If the pilot is deemed to have worked, similar “family friendly” hours could be extended to Tuesdays and Wednesdays The Commons rarely sits on Fridays. Late hours are likely to be retained for Mondays, as many MPs have to travel long distances to get to London after the weekend in their constituencies.Anne Campbell, the Labour MP for Cambridge who submitted the petition to Margaret Beckett, the chairman of the Modernisation Committee, welcomed the vote “I’m pleased that progress has been made. We still have a lot of work to do to build on the powerful drive for reform that we now have,” she said. “We had 187 MPs sign the petition and they were from all parties.

With such a large number of people supporting it, there must be a good chance of real change.”Paul Tyler, the Liberal Democrat member of the committee, said the opposition parties were willing to negotiate the reforms as long as the Government agreed to look at how to space out its Bills throughout the year.. The Scottish Parliament will be built at the foot of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, but under tight time and financial constraints, MSPs said yesterday. The Scottish Parliament will be built at the foot of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, but under tight time and financial constraints, MSPs said yesterday.
They voted by a majority of nine to reject a proposal to mothball the project until June while other sites were considered. The original cost has quadrupled, but MSPs passed a motion capping the budget at £195m, to be completed by 2003.The vote was a triumph for Donald Dewar, Scotland’s First Minister, who has always backed the site close to Queen’s residence in the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and who has been blamed for the project’s inflated costs. He told MSPs the site was “eminently suitable”.Sir David Steel, the presiding officer, said the price tag of £195m included extra demands for space from MSPs.

Parliament is borrowing the building of Assembly of the Church of Scotland for its debates.. The Government’s freedom of information legislation was dealt a severe blow last night after Labour backbenchers staged a series of revolts in a bid to reduce ministers’ power to withhold facts. The Government’s freedom of information legislation was dealt a severe blow last night after Labour backbenchers staged a series of revolts in a bid to reduce ministers’ power to withhold facts.
A total of 36 backbenchers joined Tories and Liberal Democrats despite concessions by Jack Straw to the Freedom of Information Bill. While the Home Secretary maintained a majority of over 100 during the votes, the size of the rebellion is likely to encourage peers to demand further concessions.A cross-party alliance could easily defeat the Government and exert further pressure once the Bill goes to the House of Lords for debate.

It was the second time this week that Labour MPs had embarrassed the Government after 41 backbenchers supported restoring the link between pensions and earnings on Monday night.Speaking during the Bill’s resumed report stage, Mr Straw insisted that his concessions would provide a “very significant route” for the release of background information, including that which had informed policy discussions.Dr Tony Wright, the chairman of the Public Administration Committee and MP for Cannock Chase, said he was voting against the Government with “some sadness” because he was a “serious loyalist”.Dr Wright said he was “astonished” by some of the “gigantic set of exemptions” to disclosure of information included in the measure.But Mr Straw said any over-ride would proceed on the basis that the information involved would at some stage become public or be scrutinised in private. The Government’s proposals were “part of an answer, which is a safe one, where the conflict of the needs of Government to make its decisions in confidence with the understandable requirements of the public and of this House to ensure the maximum amount of factual information being available is properly balanced”.Tony Benn, MP for Chesterfield, said: “I see this as the beginnings of a recovery of power by the legislature in dealing with the executive. This is a moment when the executive in the form of ministers is standing against Parliament and the public interest.”Dr David Clark added: “We are not talking about the advice to ministers. We are not talking about the confidential relationship which is essential between ministers and civil servants. We’re talking about background factual information.” Information made available to citizens would “empower” them and change the waycivil servants worked.Labour MPs voting for the amendment and against the Government were: Tony Benn (Chesterfield), Dr David Clark (South Shields), Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley), Harry Cohen (Leyton and Wanstead), Frank Cook (Stockton N), Jeremy Corbyn (Islington N), Robin Corbett (Birmingham Erdington), Jim Cousins (Newcastle Upon Tyne Central), Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow), Gwyneth Dunwoody (Crewe and Nantwich), Mark Fisher (Stoke Central), Derek Foster (Bishop Auckland), Neil Gerrard (Walthamstow), Thomas Graham (Renfrewshire W), David Hinchliffe (Wakefield), Kelvin Hopkins (Luton N), Jon Owen Jones (Cardiff Central), Dr Lynne Jones (Birmingham Selly Oak), Andy Love (Edmonton), John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington), Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock), Alice Mahon (Halifax), Jim Marshall (Leicester S), Robert Marshall-Andrews (Medway), Bill Michie (Sheffield Heeley), Julie Morgan (Cardiff N), Gordon Prentice (Pendle), Alan Simpson (Nottingham S), Dennis Skinner (Bolsover), Llewellyn Smith (Blaenau Gwent), Betty Williams (Conwy), David Winnick (Walsall N), Mike Wood (Batley and Spen), Dr Tony Wright (Cannock Chase), Derek Wyatt (Sittingbourne and Sheppey). Labour’s Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley) acted as a teller for amendment supporters.. It’s 10.30am and true to her image as the supreme Blairite technocrat, Anne Campbell MP is in her office reading e-mails on her laptop.