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Business of the House

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising Norman Kember’s release. I am sure that I speak for the whole House when I say how delighted we all are for him and his family and friends that he and the two Canadian hostages have been released. It is important, however, to remember that an American hostage, a compatriot, was brutally killed in Baghdad. I would also like to praise the British forces, working alongside forces from other countries, for what has been described as their prominent role in securing the hostages’ release. We have had a number of debates in the House about the situation in Iraq, and I am sure that that will continue. We also have regular defence debates, in which it is possible for right hon. and hon. Members to raise that issue. I have spoken on Iraq on many occasions, and it is a matter that the Government take very seriously. We also recognise the importance of the views of right hon. and hon. Members. As for ministerial statements, we have a practice of issuing written ministerial statements when that is appropriate, and they provide a considerable amount of detail. Ministers also recognise the importance of coming to the House when that is necessary, and it is something that they do on a regular basis. I looked at the statistics recently, and on average a Minister makes a statement to the House pretty much every other sitting day, so it is a regular occurrence. As for press speculation, one of the interesting aspects of our great media is that if they speculate often enough about what will be in a ministerial announcement or a Budget statement, some of that speculation will be right. It necessarily follows that if enough ideas are spread around, the media will get it right once or twice. I am delighted that the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr. Heath) believes what he reads in the newspapers about their sources of information. There is a touching naivety about the Liberal Democrats, which we all rather appreciate. I have made clear the position on the Mental Health Bill. Of course, had the Government not responded to the debate and the various representations received, we would have been criticised for that. Again, I do not expect consistency from the Liberal Democrats—and I am not getting it. As far as Government vacancies are concerned, I would have thought that the Liberal Democrats, and the Conservatives, who also raised the issue, would have praised the Government for the efficient way in which we are managing the business of the country. Obviously, not having a full complement of Ministers means that our productivity is higher.