House of Commons · Urgent Question
02 June 2025 · 27 other contributors
Opened by Jesse Norman Con Hereford and South Herefordshire
Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.
Jesse Norman raised concerns about government announcements 2025-06-02 in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
Key points
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.
Opened the debate
Will the Leader of the House confirm if the Government will adhere to the principle that important announcements should be made in the House, not through media briefings? The MP is concerned about recent instances where significant government decisions were announced outside Parliament, breaching the Ministerial Code and showing a lack of respect for democratic accountability.
Question
The Leader of the House failed to address the urgent issue regarding announcements made outside Parliament. The MP criticises the Government's decision-making process, pointing out recent breaches of the Ministerial Code.
Minister reply
I believe strongly that important announcements should be made in the House when it is in session. We have made many statements on major policy changes to ensure transparency and accountability. I remind the shadow Leader of the House of previous instances where his party ignored similar principles.
Question
The MP reminds the Leader of the House that the Prime Minister promised greater transparency in government. She asks if the Government will ensure that important statements are made to the House first, allowing for thorough parliamentary scrutiny.
Minister reply
Proper scrutiny through Parliament is more effective than press conferences. The Government take their commitments seriously and strive to uphold democratic accountability by making announcements to the House when it is in session.
Question
Trust, integrity and transparency must be the watchwords of our politics, but those principles were worn extremely thin under the previous Government. What steps is the Leader of the House taking to redouble our commitment to trust and integrity?
Minister reply
I do find it slightly strange that Conservative Members think they are upholders of parliamentary democracy now. We are raising standards, behaviour, and culture in this House, and ensuring it is respected.
Question
The word the Leader of the House was looking for was 'sorry'. The ministerial code is clear on making major announcements to the House first. Why does No. 10 think this is wrong and what are you doing to put it right?
Minister reply
I am sorry if members of the media have been given sight of the SDR ahead of Members of this House, but we always intended to make a statement today on the strategic defence review.
Question
Does the Leader of the House agree that part of the Government’s remit is to modernise and bring back trust in politics? Will she outline what she has been doing to this end?
Minister reply
One of our remits on the Modernisation Committee is to ensure more time for Back Benchers to scrutinise Government business, which will make Parliament the crucible of national debate.
Question
Does the Leader of the House think that announcements are being made outside of Parliament because they lack confidence in stopping leaks, or simply to get more publicity?
Minister reply
I relay regularly that Government announcements should be made to this House first. Managing announcements over a few days can be challenging but we will make statements to the House.
Question
The Defence Committee was not given advance sight of the report, leaving members texting journalists for information. Does the Secretary of State live up to his commitment to be more transparent?
Minister reply
We offered to brief the Chair of the Defence Committee and I know that the Secretary of State takes his responsibilities to the House seriously.
Question
Why did not the Leader of the House grovel and apologise after being upbraided by Mr Speaker, as is standard? Was an opportunity offered to Opposition leaders for advance sight of documents?
Minister reply
I have respect for Mr Speaker and work closely with him. I will inquire about Privy Council briefings and ensure he gets a reply.
Question
On 30 January, the Leader of the House said that the child poverty strategy would be published in spring. Why is it not being published and what are the timings for its release?
Minister reply
I know this is a matter of concern to the hon. Lady. I will ensure she and the House are updated on the timings for the child poverty taskforce and that Ministers come regularly to update on its progress.
Question
Integrated care boards had their budgets cut by 50% without proper parliamentary scrutiny. Will the Leader of the House give us an opportunity to scrutinise this fundamental reorganisation of the NHS?
Minister reply
Issues relating to ICBs and NHS reorganisation are regularly raised with me at business questions. The abolition of NHS England will require primary legislation, providing ample time for Members to consider these matters through the passage of that legislation.
Question
The Government decided to make a written statement later in the day during recess when an urgent question was brought forward. What representation did the Leader of the House make on that day to ensure timely information for scrutiny?
Minister reply
I went back and looked at usual practice regarding pay review settlements, which were announced simultaneously across various Government Departments as a matter of routine. This ensures simultaneous publication rather than avoiding scrutiny.
Question
Does the Leader of the House agree that there are few announcements to be made in this Parliament that are as important as our defence strategy, and if procedure had been followed, we could have debated other business today?
Minister reply
The strategic defence review is 150 pages long and will be laid before the House shortly. Although certain aspects were trailed ahead of time, the full document and conclusions will be presented in line with convention.
Question
The Leader of the House mentioned that some aspects of the SDR were trailed ahead of time. Did she raise concerns over recent leaks in the press when they happened?
Minister reply
Some aspects were indeed trailed, but not specifically the nuclear issue; that was not intended for public release at such an early stage.
Question
Why do the Government appear to trust journalists with national security information before allowing Opposition Members access under Privy Counsellor rules?
Minister reply
I regret that members of the media were given a reading room space to look at the SDR before it was laid. I will ensure full details are provided on who received Privy Council briefings.
Question
Will the Leader of the House offer a full apology to Mr Speaker and Members for what has happened, and seek reassurances from the Prime Minister that this will not happen again?
Minister reply
I have made all those things clear. The statement is being laid before the House today as tradition dictates; the Secretary of State will be here to answer questions extensively.
Question
Will she order an inquiry into how the decision was made to brief journalists directly, and ensure that whoever authorised it apologises?
Minister reply
I regret if members of the media were given advance sight before Members. I am ensuring that we adhere strictly to convention in future.
Question
Will the Government commit to announcing statements in this House first, and invite local journalists from Eastbourne to government press conferences of interest?
Minister reply
MPs must be able to scrutinise major announcements. We have given almost double the number of oral statements as the previous government did in their final year; we ensure local MPs are informed on matters of particular interest.
Question
Given the lead-in time for organising the Prime Minister’s visit to Glasgow, is it clear that the Government made a deliberate decision to pre-empt the statement and show contempt?
Minister reply
I do not accept this. The House was in recess until nearly two hours ago; we are laying the document before the House as usual practice without trying to shirk scrutiny.
Question
The Leader of the House will be aware of my complaint when matters pertinent to Northern Ireland are announced in the media. How will the Leader of the House assure Members that their position will be considered rather than letting the timings of the news cycle take precedence?
Minister reply
I want to ensure that he and every other Member has ample opportunity to do that, whatever the issue of the day is; that statements are brought; and that we have time for Government business and all the other important business of the day.
Question
I seek your advice on whether journalists were given access to the full embargoed SDR publication before Members of Parliament. Can I ask if the Vote Office could, exceptionally, be asked to release it now?
Minister reply
My understanding—I will check with the Defence Secretary—is that these things are normally published when the Secretary of State sits down; it is a bit like the Budget. The Opposition Front Benchers have a copy of the report now.
Question
You may have noticed that I briefly exited the Chamber to see whether copies of the SDR were available in the Vote Office, and I was told, quite rightly, that no, they would be made available immediately after the Secretary of State had made his statement.
Minister reply
I am sure that that is a good point of clarification on the way forward.
Question
Surely it is an abuse that journalists must have been fully briefed and handed a copy of the SDR long before anybody else.
Minister reply
I call Helen Maguire.
Question
I wonder if the Minister wants to correct the record because, yes, I was offered a private briefing this morning, but it was absolutely clarified that I would not receive the SDR until the Minister stood up.
Minister reply
I call Simon Hoare.
Question
Given the seriousness of the issues, is there any merit in you considering suspending the House to allow those who are to be called to speak on behalf of their respective parties at least the courtesy that has clearly been extended to industry leaders and journalists?
Minister reply
I call Stuart Anderson.
Question
Is there any way we can have a list of the commercial companies who have had sight of the review ahead of anybody else, because commercially sensitive decisions might be made that impact the defence industry and give people a market advantage?
Minister reply
You make the point that I was hinting at before. I am very concerned that people who have skin in the game may be able to take advantage of what is in the report.
Question
We have followed procedure from the last defence review, when we had no advance copy and were not offered a briefing. We have been following convention.
Minister reply
I thank the Secretary of State for that, and I am sure that Members will receive their copies as we speak.
Government Response
I hear your statement, Mr Speaker. I responded to an urgent question on this matter previously on 14 May and reiterate my commitments then. The Ministerial Code requires that important announcements be made in Parliament first when it is in session. Since then, the Government have made several oral statements on various matters such as the infected blood inquiry, sanctions review, National Security Act charges, legal aid cyber-security incident, trade deals, Israel-Palestine situation, sentencing review, and Diego Garcia military base. This afternoon, a strategic defence review will be published with a statement from the Defence Secretary. The Government take their obligations to Parliament seriously and make oral statements when appropriate. We have made 153 oral and 673 written statements in this Session, more than previous Governments did during similar periods.