Frequently Asked Questions
Just click on one of the questions below to take a shortcut to the answer
Q. I’ve got a problem. Can you help?
Q. Can I contact you even if I don’t live in North West Leicestershire?
Q. What can you actually do to help with a problem?
Q. How can I get a petition presented to Parliament?
Q. What if I ask you to support something you don’t agree with?
Q. Can I visit you at Parliament?
Q. Can I be shown round the Houses of Parliament?
Q. Can I see the House of Commons in action?
The following information is taken from the House of Commons factsheet ‘You and Your MP’:
Q. I’ve got a problem. Can you help?
A. Many people think that their MP is there to solve all their problems for them: this is not the case. MPs are there to help only with those matters for which Parliament or central government is responsible.
Your MP is not there to help you in private disputes with neighbours, with an employer, with family matters or with companies who have sold you faulty goods; nor can they interfere with decisions made by courts.
Constituents often take a problem to their MP because they do not know who else could help them. MPs are very generous at giving help and advice and try to be as helpful as he or she can but, since he or she has around 68,500 constituents to look after and his or her Parliamentary duties to attend to, this will place limits on the amount of time which can be spent in the constituency. It is then important that they spend their time dealing with problems that relate to them, rather than diverting queries that should have been taken elsewhere.
The first thing to consider, when thinking about contacting your MP, is whether he or she is the right option. There are a variety of options to consider, some of which may be of more direct help than an MP. If your problem is with services provided by your local council, then one of your local councillors will often be of more direct help than a Member of Parliament. Your local library or town hall should be able to provide you with your councillor's name and contact information If your problem is of a more general nature or you are uncertain where to go for advice, then your nearest Citizens Advice Bureau will be able to guide you.
However, if your problem is not local in nature (such as council tax, or local social services, or day to day problems in schools) but instead concerns central government policies (such as the National Health Service, HM Revenue and Customs who collect the bulk of tax and pay child benefit and tax credits, and the Department of Work and Pensions who deal with issues such as benefits, pensions and national insurance) then you should contact your Member of
Parliament
Q. Can I contact you even if I don’t live in North West Leicestershire?
A. MPs will deal only with the problems of their own constituents and not with those of another MP’s constituents. This is because the British parliamentary system is founded on the principle that one Member represents a single constituency, and that her or his relations with constituents are very much a preserve other Members should not interfere with.
Q. What can you actually do to help with a problem?
Where your problem does require that you contact your MP, there are a number of methods available to try to resolve the matter:
- A letter from your MP to the relevant department or official will often provide a solution;
- Your MP may decide to take matters a stage further by writing to the Minister involved;
- Your MP may make an appointment to see the Minister personally.
Many constituents' problems can be solved in this way but not all problems, of course, have an easy solution. The Minister may not be able to give the answer that you wanted to hear but if the decision has been made in the right way, there may be little that can be done. If, on the other hand, there has been unnecessary delay, or if some essential procedure has been missed out, i.e. if there has been maladministration, your MP may be able to take your case to the Parliamentary Ombudsman (also called the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration). The Ombudsman is sometimes able to resolve such cases where there has been administrative incompetence but can only be approached via your MP; you cannot approach the Ombudsman directly.
The Health Service Ombudsman can provide similar help where the problem involves the NHS. The two Ombudsman posts are currently both held by the same person and have a website at the following address: http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/
There is also a Commissioner for Local Administration (Local Government Ombudsman) who deals with possible maladministration in local government matters. A complainant must give the council concerned an opportunity to deal with a complaint against it first. It is best to use the council's own complaints procedure, if it has one. If the complainant is not satisfied with the action the council takes, he or she can send a written complaint to the Local Government
Ombudsman, or ask a councillor to do so on their behalf. More details are given on the website of the Local Government Ombudsman at:
All of the methods discussed so far allow problems to be kept confidential. If your MP is not satisfied with the answers received, he or she may feel that there is something to be gained by making the matter public and may want to raise the issue in the House of Commons in front of the press and public. There are a number of occasions when your MP may have the chance to do this.
- Oral Questions - The most popular is for your MP to ask the Minister an oral question at Question Time one afternoon. Ministers answer questions at the despatch box on a rota basis and there is a limit to the number of questions which there will be time to ask, so this cannot necessarily be done on a given day. Similarly, your MP can table a written question to the appropriate Government department. The answers to these questions are then published in Hansard).
- Adjournment Debates - Your MP may also try to raise your problem in the half-hour Adjournment Debate, usually the last business of the day, although again there will be competition amongst MPs for the right to raise matters on adjournment and your MP must be successful in a ballot or have his or her subject chosen by the Speaker.
- Early Day Motions - At other times, your MP may prefer to draw attention to the matter by what is called an Early Day Motion. Although EDMs are very rarely debated, your MP will have placed on record his or her opinion on a subject and is able to gauge the support of his or her fellow MPs.
- Private Members’ Bill - If your MP becomes aware that your problem is a common one then he or she may try to gain the opportunity to introduce a Private Member's Bill). Only a very few such measures are successful but once again publicity is drawn to the matter and the Minister may be persuaded to makechanges in the future.
These methods can all produce results and sometimes the publicity may be helpful in persuading a Minister to change his or her mind. Please note that the Code of Conduct for Ministers means that Ministers are not able to pursue these courses of action. Parliamentary Private Secretaries and opposition spokespeople may also be restricted by internal party rules.
Q. How can I get a petition presented to Parliament?
If you and other people feel strongly about a certain issue, you may decide to organise a petition to the House of Commons. Your petition can only be presented by an MP and must be arranged in a particular forma). You can obtain advice on this by writing to the:
Clerk of Public Petitions
Journal Office
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
The Prime Minister’s website provides an opportunity to present an electronic petition. See http://petitions.pm.gov.uk
Q. What if I ask you to support something you don’t agree with?
A. Your MP will generally do everything he or she can to help constituents but will not feel able to support every cause nor will he, or she, be able to get the desired solution to every individual problem. Members may not be willing to support one constituent if in doing so they will deprive another. At times a constituent's demands may conflict with party policy and your MP will have to decide where their first loyalty should lie. The Member may think that, in any case, a majority of constituents would support the party policy - after all that is likely to be one of the reasons why they elected him or her.
Q. Can I visit you at Parliament?
A. When the House of Commons is sitting, you will be allowed access to the Central Lobby to see your MP. It is best to make an appointment before doing so, however, as your MP might have other appointments or engagements elsewhere and not be available to see you.
Q. Can I be shown round the Houses of Parliament?
A. Guided tours of the building take place during the Summer Recess; more details are given on the Parliament website:
http://www.parliament.uk/about/visiting/summer_opening.cfm
At other times, you must contact your MP to obtain a permit. Times and numbers are limited so, consequently, there is great demand for tours and you should contact your MP's office to make the necessary arrangements well in advance - two to three months ahead - and should be as flexible as possible in choice of date. Constituents are not admitted for tours of the building unless they have made a booking through their MP. Due to the limited availability of tours we are unable, at present, to offer tours to overseas visitors outside the summer opening mentioned above.
Q. Can I see the House of Commons in action?
A. MPs have only two tickets approximately every ten days to give to constituents for the Strangers' Gallery for popular sessions such as Question Time, so demand is very heavy. Tickets from MPs are the only way to secure entry. Tickets are not necessary if you can visit at an off peak time. A leaflet detailing information on gallery visits is available on request from the House of Commons Information Office and on the Parliament Internet site.
THINGS YOU’VE ASKED DAVID
Q. Why did you go into politics?
A. I come from a normal working class background and was brought up on a council estate in a mining village with the countryside despoiled by mining. Even before I joined the Labour Party in the 1970s I was involved in the environmental movement (and hope to be more active again when I’m no longer in Parliament). I’ve lived in the same village all my life and I wanted to make some changes that were environmentally necessary, so I decided to stand for Parliament.’
Q. Can you tell Councils what to do?
A. No, local authorities whether at Parish, District or County level each have their own electoral mandate and take their own decisions. I can make representations to them on your behalf but I cannot, for example, make them give you a Council house or refuse a planning application.
Q. What’s your position on the Iraq war?
A. I marched against it. I wrote against it. I spoke against it. I voted against it.
Q. Why can’t we have a referendum on the European Constitution?
A. This parliament should resolve the convoluted arguments about whether a manifesto commitment to go for another referendum on a ‘constitutional treaty’ should apply to what is now called an ‘amending treaty’.
Personally, I have long backed such a referendum – and indeed a wider vote of confidence in our very future in Europe. Politicians should have nothing to fear from the will of the people. A referendum would have the advantage of getting critics off the fence to decide which side they are really on. A substantial Yes vote would put the uncertainty behind us and commit Britain to Europe in an active and constructive role, whilst a No vote could clearly take us into difficult uncharted territory.
Q. Why do you sometimes vote both for and against something in Parliament?
A. During my years as the local MP, one of the constant frustrations I have encountered at Westminster is that when the division bell sounds, there is no way in which an abstention from the vote in question can be recorded.
To simply not vote is not acceptable to me. It implies I wasn’t there or couldn’t be bothered. That is why I, and some of my fellow MPs, cause some consternation to the tellers by voting in both the ‘aye’ and ‘no’ lobbies on such occasions. We thereby record that we have voted, but by one cancelling out the other have no effect on the outcome. An abstention by any other name.
Q. Why do MPs get so much money in expenses?
I think expenses is the wrong word, costs would be better. While I do get reimbursed for things like travelling to and from London, the bulk isn’t money in my pocket, it goes on running and staffing my two offices in Coalville and at Westminster. For a breakdown of my expenses, click here
