Tuesday 18 November 2008

David Taylor (North West Leicestershire):  

To ask the Leader of the House, what recent assessment she has made of the methods by which hon. Members may add their names to early day motions.

Chris Bryant:

Hon. Members may add their names to an early day motion by signing a copy of the motion or a piece of paper with the EDM number; by asking another hon. Member to sign on their behalf; or by asking in person in the Table Office for their name to be added.

The Procedure Committee recommended in May 2007 that there should be no move towards the electronic tabling of early day motions without significantly stronger authentication than is currently required for parliamentary questions (First Report of 2006-07, HC 513, paragraphs 93 to 96).

The House endorsed this approach in its debate on the Committee's Report on 25th October 2007.

The Procedure Committee is currently considering the issue of authentication as part of its inquiry into written questions.