Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)

My Lords, happy new year. Before we start Oral Questions, I thought it would be useful again to remind colleagues of the importance of good discipline. Question Time is for questions, not statements or speeches. The Companion is clear that “questions should be short and confined to not more than two points”. While many noble Lords follow this, last year, I saw more long contributions with more than two questions, which were often more statement-like. The noble Lord, Lord Leigh of Hurley, and my noble friend Lord Spellar always manage to ask very effective questions while never giving us a speech. Making speeches restricts the time available for other Members to question the Minister, which I know can be a source of frustration. I therefore ask that all colleagues follow this customary discipline of short, sharp, focused questions to maximise the time available. I have also reminded Ministers of the need to be short, sharp, concise and focused in their responses, which is just as important. I am sure that all my colleagues on the Government Front Bench today will follow this advice to the letter.