Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord McIntosh of Haringey (Labour). It was answered on Tuesday, 10 June 2008.

House of Lords: Oral Questions

Question: My Lords, as one who has answered my fair share of Questions in my time, may I ask the Leader of the House whether she will remind Members of the House asking supplementary questions that, if they ask more than two, the Minister responding has the opportunity to pick and choose, which makes it easier for the Minister? I heard what she said about being helpful, but will Ministers refrain from answering questions that bear no relation to the Question on the Order Paper?

Answer: Indeed, my Lords. My noble friend attempts to be helpful, but I am not sure that my colleagues on the Front Bench thought that reminding noble Lords of the ability to pick and choose was necessarily the best thing. Of course, I agree with him: if a question is wide of the mark, noble Lords must accept that we will not be answering it.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 702 c478
Session: 2007-08
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: House of Lords Parliamentary procedure Ministers Oral questions Supplementary questions
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk