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Business of the House

We can all agree that when the House is sitting and a Minister has an announcement to make, that should be heard first in the House, not read about in the newspapers or heard on the ““Today”” programme. That is what is important. However, it is perfectly acceptable for the Prime Minister, as he did, to go to Basra and, when he is there, to answer questions about troop numbers. The hon. Member for North Southwark and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes) asked about the recall and dissolution of Parliament. The Modernisation Committee, which met yesterday, agreed that under the ““Governance of Britain”” proposals, we should examine the recall and dissolution of Parliament. Indeed, there will a Speaker's conference on a number of aspects of building public confidence in our democratic system. It is already possible under the law for voting to take place at weekends. That has been piloted in some areas and it is important that we continue to consider it. The hon. Gentleman spoke about the opportunities for discussing flood defences. I draw his attention to what the Chancellor said in the pre-Budget report about the increase in money for flood defences. We must not only tackle climate change and reduce carbon emissions—the climate change Bill will be important for that—but invest in adaptation to extreme weather conditions and protect people from floods. That was proposed in the pre-Budget report. The hon. Gentleman mentioned the importance of the House having topical debates. He is aware that the Modernisation Committee has made substantial proposals for topical questions to be asked without notice at Question Time, as in Prime Minister's Question Time, and for topical debates. I shall shortly present those proposals to the House.