Guides

We're giving away £50 of Waterstones vouchers to anyone signed up to our newsletter using a parliament.uk email account.Read More

Written Questions can be tabled by any peer but no more than six should be tabled by one peer on one day. They are normally answered within two weeks and the answer is published in Hansard. A holding answer may be given. Written ministerial statements made in the Commons often appear on the same day...Read More

Invented to reduce the incidence of planted written questions, written ministerial statements are released by Ministers, at relatively short notice, when they want to make an announcement to the House but feel that its content does not warrant a full oral statement.Read More

Written questions for answer by a specific department can be tabled by any MP. There are two types – ordinary and named day. Ordinary written questions do not have to be answered on a specified day but MPs normally put them down for answer two days after they are tabled. In practice, answers, which appear...Read More

With time on the floor of the House for private members' debates curtailed in recent years, experimental sittings in Westminster Hall have quickly become part of the landscape for the Commons. These sittings take the form of a series of 'adjournment debates' of varying lengths, 30 and 90 minutes being the norm. Sittings take place...Read More

White Papers are detailed statements of Government policy, which set the broad principles for legislation, although not all White Papers lead to new law. White Papers are produced from time to time by departments and their publication is always accompanied by an oral statement to the Commons by the Secretary of State. White Papers are...Read More

Along with the Council of Ministers, the EP constitutes the EU's legislature. Historically, the EP was purely a consultative body, but treaty changes have given it more and more power to amend and block legislation. When a proposal is referred to the EP, it develops and declares an 'opinion' – which has differing degrees of...Read More