Business Statement

Next week the House begins a 3-week adjournment. When the House resumes on 28 April, it is the Government’s intention to begin the debate on the Appropriation (2013/14 Confirmation and Validation) Bill as well as a number of other second and third readings on the Order Paper.

Can I start by wishing all members of the House a very happy Easter break. I notice that there are currently only 21 Government orders of the day available on the Order Paper, and in fact there are 22 members’ orders of the day available on the Order Paper. I wonder whether the Leader of the House has given any consideration to increasing the allocation of time to members’ orders of the day, given that the Government seems to be having difficulty filling its half of the Order Paper.

Well, the relative inexperience of the shadow Leader of the House is showing through in that statement. He will know that this is a very busy Government; they are big pieces of legislation that are before the House at the present time. And if I might quote a former Leader of the House when a similar question was posed to him, in about 2004, his reply then was: “Stand by; more is on its way.”