Northern Ireland round-up: 29 January 2010
29 January 2010 (updated on 22 April 2010)
Parliamentary business relating to Northern Ireland for the week ending 29 January 2010.
Oral questions
- Video: Cross-border police co-operation in Northern Ireland
- Lords Hansard: Cross-border police co-operation in Northern Ireland
Question Time in the House of Lords takes place at the beginning of the day's business for up to 30 minutes on Mondays to Thursdays. Lords questions are to the Government as a whole, not to particular government departments (as they are in the Commons).
Written questions
- Commons Hansard: Sexual Offences in Northern Ireland
- Commons Hansard: Coroners in Northern Ireland
- Commons Hansard: Police Service in Northern Ireland
In addition to oral questions, MPs and Peers can ask government ministers questions for written answer. These are often used to obtain detailed information about policies and statistics on the activities of government departments.
Early Day Motions
Early Day Motions (EDMs) are formal motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons. However, very few EDMs are actually debated. Instead, they are used for reasons such as publicising the views of individual MPs, drawing attention to specific events or campaigns, and demonstrating the extent of parliamentary support for a particular cause or point of view.
Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Northern Ireland Office.