Northern Ireland Questions: 10 November 2010
11 November 2010 (updated on 22 November 2010)
Owen Paterson, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, answered MPs' questions on subjects including exports, the security situation and the effects of EU legislation on Northern Ireland's fishing fleet.
- Video and Audio: Northern Ireland Questions
- Commons Hansard: Northern Ireland Questions
- About Parliament: Question Time
MPs asked questions on:
- exports
- on progress locating the disappeared
- effects of changes in Barnett Formula funding
- effects of the Comprehensive Spending Review on security in Northern Ireland
- the security situation in Northern Ireland
- implications of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill
- financial assistance to savers with the Presbyterian Mutual Society
- dissident violence
- effects of EU legislation on Northern Ireland's fishing fleet
Question Time in the Commons
Question Time takes place for an hour, Monday to Thursday, after prayers. Each government department answers questions according to a rota called the Order of Oral Questions. The questions asked must relate to the responsibilities of the government department concerned.
Commons oral questions are tabled by MPs at least three days in advance of Question Time. The questions are then printed in the Commons Questions Book. The order in which the questions are asked is determined randomly by a computer.
MPs who are called by the Speaker to ask their question do not read it out, but simply call out its number. When the government minister has replied, the MP can ask another question (known as a supplementary) and other MPs may also be called to ask supplementary questions. The Minister must reply to each in turn. Supplementary questions must be on the same subject as the original question.