Sessional Information Digest: 2005 - 06
Section A - Part 1
Sittings of the House and Dates of Session
The House sat on every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and on 13 Fridays during the following periods (all dates inclusive)
17 May 2005 - 26 May 2005
6 Jun 2005 - 21 July 2005
10 Oct 2005 - 20 Dec 2005
9 Jan 2006 - 16 Feb 2006
27 Feb 2006 - 30 Mar 2006
18 Apr 2006 - 25 May 2006
5 Jun 2006 - 25 Jul 2006
9 Oct 2006 - 8 Nov 2006
The total number of sitting days was 208. The House sat for 1572 hours and 7 minutes, and the average length of the daily sitting (including Fridays) was 7 hours and 33 minutes.
The House sat on the following Fridays: 14, 21 & 28 October 2005; 11 November 2005; 2 December 2005; 20 January 2006; 3, 10 & 17 March 2006; 12 may 2006, 16 June 2006; 14 July 1006; 20 October 2006
Analysis of the time of the session
Type of Business
| Total time spent (hours:minutes) |
| | | |
1
| Addresses, other than Prayers (including debate on Queen's Speech)
| 40:48
| |
| | | |
2
| Government Bills
| | |
| Second Reading debate (Bills committed to a Standing Committee)
| 187:28
| |
| Second Reading debate (Bills committed to a Committee of the Whole House)
| 50:53
| |
| Committee of the Whole House
| 77:18
| |
| Consideration (Report stage)
| 199:51
| |
| Third Reading
| 34:53
| |
| Lords Amendments
| 70:29
| |
| Allocation of Time Order (including Programme Motions)
| 7:29
| |
| Committal Motion
| 3:06
| |
| | | |
3
| Private Members' Bills
| | |
| Motions for the introduction of Ten Minute Rule Bills
| 14:50
| |
| Second Reading
| 40:52
| |
| Other stages
| 17:10
| |
| | | |
4
| Government motions
| | |
| European Community Documents
| 8:05
| |
| General
| 1:15
| |
| | | |
5
| Opposition motions
| | |
| Opposition Days (20 days)
| 129:58
| |
| | | |
6
| Adjournment
| | |
| Government debates on motions for the Adjournment
| 103:00
| |
| Last day before Recesses
| 25:05
| |
| Daily (at end of business)
| 107:02
| |
| | | |
7
| Estimates
| 15:42
| |
| | | |
8
| Money Resolutions
| 0:54
| |
| | | |
9
| Ways and Means Resolutions (including Budget Debate)
| 22:27
| |
| | | |
10
| Affirmative Statutory Instruments
| 18:09
| |
| | | |
| | | |
11
| Oral Questions
| 176:42
| |
| Urgent Questions
| 7:34
| |
| Statements
| 81:39
| |
| Business statements
| 38:25
| |
| SO No 24 Applications
| 0:11
| |
| Points of Order and Speaker's Rulings
| 7:07
| |
| Miscellaneous
| 21:35
| |
| Presentation of Public Petitions
| 4:44
| |
| Daily Prayers
| 17:00
| |
| | |
| | |
Sessional Total
| 1572:07
| |
| Note: | The time taken up by Divisions is included with the class of business upon which the divisions were called |
Section A - Part 2
Parliamentary Questions
Statistics of Parliamentary Questions are available in two forms. The figures for each, which for various reasons (mainly owing to methods of counting and recording) are not exactly comparable, are as follows:
Questions appearing on the Order Paper calculated by the Journal Office
Appearing on the Order Paper for Oral Answer
| 5353 1 |
Put down for priority Written answer
| 15374 |
Put down for non-priority Written Answer
| 79667 |
| |
Total
| 100394 |
1 Of which 2712 received an oral answer in the House on one of the 188 days on which such answers were given
| Note: | Not more than about half of all questions put down for Oral Answer will receive such an answer - the rest are answered in writing |
Questions appearing in Hansard, and indexed in the Parliamentary Information Management Services (PIMS)
Oral replies (including supplementaries)
Oral replies (excluding supplementaries)
| 8014
2734
|
Written replies
| 96016 2 |
Total
| 104030
|
2 With POLIS, several written questions from the same Member, if answered together by the Minister, may have been treated as one question
The total number of urgent questions (excluding Business Questions) was 14.
The total number of supplementary questions (excluding tabled questions) was 5280
Section A - Part 3
Opposition Days
Standing Order No 14(2),(3) provides that 20 days shall be allotted in each session for proceedings on opposition business. 17 of these are allocated to the main opposition party (Conservative) and 3 to the other opposition parties.
Date
| Day No.
| Subject of Debate |
8.06.05
| 1
| EU constitution. |
22.6.05
| 2
| 1) Special schools and special educational needs |
| | 2) Electoral integrity |
29.6.05
| 3
| 1) NHS dentistry and primary health care (LD) |
| | 2) Climate change and the G8 summit (LD) |
4.7.05
| 4
| 1) Local taxation |
| | 2) Government regulation |
12.7.05
| 5
| 1) Tax credits |
| | 2) Licensing Act 2003 |
12.10.05
| 6
| 1) Emergency services (regionalisation) |
| | 2) Tackling climate change |
19.10.05
| 7
| 1) Council tax revaluation |
| | 2) Emergency preparedness |
24.10.05
| 8
| 1) Railtrack |
| | 2) Licensing laws |
15.11.05
| 9
| 1) NHS finance |
| | 2) Ministerial code |
22.11.05
| 10
| 1) Welfare reform and incapacity benefit |
| | 2) Climate change. |
17.1.06
| 11
| 1) Child Support Agency (LD) |
| | 2) Civil nuclear power (LD) |
1.2.06
| 12
| 1) Police amalgamations |
| | 2) Government's 10-year transport plan |
7.2.06
| 13
| 1) Mental health services |
| | 2) NHS reorganisation |
1.3.06
| 14
| 1) Dentistry |
| | 2) Cancer services. |
9.5.06
| 15
| Management of the National Health Service |
7.6.06
| 16
| 1) Tax credits |
| | 2) Volunteers and carers |
21.6.06
| 17
| 1) The future of the BBC |
| | 2) Removal of gardens from the definition of "Brownfield" sites for housing development |
19.7.06
| u
| Home information packs |
11.10.06
| 18
| NHS workforce and service development |
16.10.06
| 19
| 1)Post Office (LD) |
| | 2)Green taxes (LD) |
31.10.06
| u
| Iraq (PC/SNP) |
| |
| LD-Liberal Democrat | PC-Plaid Cymru | SNP-Scottish National Party |
u- Unallotted Day
Section A - Part 4
Estimates Days
Standing Order No 52 provides that three days shall be allotted during each session for the consideration of Estimates (see Factsheet No P6). The Subjects are set down by resolution of the Liaison Committee.
Date
| No. of Allotted Day
| Principal Subjects |
8.12.05
| 1st
| Pharmaceutical industry |
20.3.06
| 2nd (part 1)
| Costs of peace keeping in Iraq and Afghanistan |
| 2nd (part 2)
| NHS financial deficits |
3.7.06
| 3rd (part 1)
| Dept of Health: Human Embryology Authority |
3.7.06
| 3rd (part 2)
| Electoral Commission estimates 2006-07 |
Section A - Part 5
Government Substantive Motions
Date
| Subject |
13.7.05
| Pay for Chairmen of Standing Committees |
1.11.05
| House of Commons Commission; Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund; House of Commons Members' Fund |
26.1.06
| PAC Reports and associated documents from 2003 onwards |
8.2.06
| Opposition Parties (Financial Assistance) |
8.2.06
| Support for Members who have chosen not to take their seats |
18.5.06
| Pay for Chairmen of Select Committees |
18.5.06
| Members' salaries |
18.5.06
| Association of Former Members of Parliament |
27.6.06
| Pensions reform |
10.7.06
| Broadcasting (Cm. 6872) |
18.7.06
| PAC Papers and associated documents 05-06 |
24.7.06
| Recess Questions |
1.11.06
| Legislative Process; Communications Allowance; September Sittings; Matters Sub Judice; Select Committee Evidence; European Standing Committees and Short Speeches |
Section A - Part 6
Standing Order No 24
Standing Order No 24 allows Members to suggest that a specific and important matter should have urgent consideration and that an emergency debate be held upon it. It is for the Speaker to decide whether the matter is sufficiently specific, important and urgent to warrant giving it precedence, and among other things to have regard to the probability of the matter being brought before the House by other means; the Chair in general gives leave very seldom. During the 2005-2006 Session, there were 2 unsuccessful applications and 1 successful. The details are as follows:
12.07.2005 UK-US Extradition Treaty
Section A - Part 7
Divisions
The total number of divisions during the Session was 343.
Section A - Part 8
Early Day Motions
The total number of Early Day Motions tabled during the Session was 2924, of which 41 were prayers for the annulment of statutory instruments. Factsheet P3 on Early Day Motions is available from the House of Commons Information Office.
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