Question Time is a section of proceedings in a parliament in which backbenchers (members of the parliament who are not Ministers) ask questions of the Prime Minister (and, in some countries, other government ministers) which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be cancelled in exceptional circumstances. Question Time originated in the Westminster system of the United Kingdom but occurs in several other countries as well. Question Time is a topical debate television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions?. It is currently shown on BBC One at 22:35 on Thursdays, and typically features politicians from the three major political parties and other public figures who answer questions put to them by the... The House of Representatives Chamber of the Parliament of Australia in Canberra. ... A backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition. ... A minister or a secretary is a politician who heads a government ministry or department (e. ... The Houses of Parliament, also known as the Palace of Westminster, in London. ...

In practice, the questions asked in Question Time are usually pre-arranged by the organisers of each party, although the questions are without notice. Questions asked by members of the opposition parties are usually intended to force the government to admit failures or to otherwise criticise it, whilst questions from government backbenchers (termed "patsies" in the United Kingdom and "Dorothy Dixers" in Australia) are either intended to allow the Minister to discuss the virtues of government policy, or to attack the opposition. A typical format of such a government backbencher's question might be "Could the Minister discuss the benefits of the government's initiative on <issue>, and is the Minister aware of any alternative policies in this area?" Dorothy Dix (November 18, 1870 – December 16, 1951), was the pseudonym of U.S. journalist Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer. ...

Whilst Ministers often try to avoid opposition questions, lying or providing misleading answers to Parliament is not permitted by the standing orders, and the resulting political outcry often results in that Minister being relieved of his position, and possibly suspended from the House. Skilled Ministers will often attempt to turn around the opposition's questions, rather than answering the question asked using them to further attack the opposition. However the oration must be rather precise, as the opposition member can raise the issue to the Speaker as to the wavering relevance of the response. Rules of order, also known as standing orders or rules of procedure, are the written rules of parliamentary procedure adopted by a deliberative assembly, which detail the processes used by the body to make decisions. ... It has been suggested that Speakers of the House be merged into this article or section. ...

Question time in the UK

Main article: Prime Minister's Questions

In the United Kingdom, Question time lasts for an hour each day from Monday to Thursday (2:30 to 3:30 on Mondays and Tuesdays, 11:30 to 12:30 on Wednesdays, and 10:30 to 12:30 on Thursdays). Each Government department has their place in a rota which repeats every fortnight. The exception to this sequence are the Business Questions (Questions to the Leader of House of Commons), in which questions are submitted about Parliamentary procedure, as well as any issue that MPs might want to raise to the government. Also, Questions to the Prime Minister takes place each Wednesday from 12 noon to 12:30. Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs) (officially Questions to the Prime Minister) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, where every Wednesday when the House of Commons is sitting the Prime Minister spends half an hour answering questions from Members of Parliament (MPs). In Canada, this convention is known as... The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons. ... Prime Ministers Questions (officially Questions to the Prime Minister) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, where every Wednesday when the House of Commons is sitting the Prime Minister spends half an hour answering questions from Members of Parliament (MPs). In Canada, this convention is known as Question...

In addition to government departments, there are also questions regarding the Church, House of Commons reform and Law Rulings.

Additionally, each Member of Parliament is entitled to file a limited number of written questions. Usually a Private Member directs a question to a Secretary of State, but it usually answered by a Minister of State or Parliamentary Under Secretary of State. Written Questions are submitted to the Clerks of the Table Office, either on paper or electronically, and are recorded in The Official Report (Hansard) so as to be widely available and accessible.^[1] In several countries, Secretary of State is a senior government position. ... Minister of State is a title borne by officials in certain countries governed under the parliamentary system. ... A Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, in the United Kingdom government structure, is a minister who is junior to a Minister of State who is then junior to a Secretary of State. ... Hansard is the traditional name for the printed transcripts of parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of government. ...

In the House of Lords an Hour is put aside each afternoon at the start of the days proceedings for 'Lords Questions'. A peer submits a query in advance, which then appears on the 'Order Paper' for the day's proceedings. The Lord shall say

My Lords, I beg to move the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper

The Minister responsible then answers the query. Afterwards, for around ten minutes any Lord can ask the Minister questions on the theme of the original put down on the order paper. (For instance, if the question regards immigration, Lords can ask the Minister any question related to immigration simply not within a certain amount of time prior to testing the Minister's reading accountability.)

Question time in Australian Parliaments

The Australian Parliament standing orders and practice allow the Prime Minister to terminate Question Time by noting to the Speaker that "further questions be placed on the Notice Paper". It is possible for the Prime Minister to prematurely terminate or terminate Question Time altogether, although this is never done due to the implications it would have (and bad publicity it would create).

Question time is generally scheduled from 2 - 3 pm on every sitting day. Apart from Divisions, it is the only time where the chamber is likely to be filled.

Tactically, it is considered an important defining characteristic for an Opposition Leader to be able ask a pertinent question of the Prime Minister or Premier, or to single out perceived weak performers in the Ministry.

Generally the Australian House of Representatives Question Time can get very roudy with numerous interjections. Therefore, causing the speaker to ask the member who is speaking to resume his/her seat so that The Speaker can deal with the matter.

The Victorian Parliament allows for a set number of "questions without notice" to be asked of Ministers, proportionally from each Party represented in the House, and traditionally starting with the Opposition. So, for example, in the current Parliament, the Liberal Party has one question, then Labor (the governing party), then the Nationals (a minority party) and on occasion a question from the independent Member for East Gippsland, Craig Ingram.

Question time in Canada

Main article: Question Period

Question Period or Oral Questions is a Canadian parliamentary practice similar to the British Prime Ministers Questions in which Members of Parliament submit questions to the government ministers including the Prime Minister for answer. ...

Question time in Hong Kong

The questions in the Legislative Council are aimed at seeking information on government actions on specific problems or incidents and on government policies, for the purpose of monitoring the effectiveness of the government. The Legislative Council (abbreviated as LegCo; Chinese: 立法會, Pinyin: Lìfǎ Huì; formerly 立法局, Lìfǎ Jú) is the unicameral legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

Questions may be asked at any council meeting except the first meeting of a session, a meeting at which the President (the speaker) of the council is elected, or the Chief Executive delivers the annual policy address to the Council. The President of the Legislative Council is the speaker of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. ... It has been suggested that Speakers of the House be merged into this article or section. ... Other Hong Kong topics Culture - Economy Education - Geography - History Hong Kong Portal The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese: , pinyin: Xiānggǎng Tèbié Xíngzhèngqū Xíngzhèng Zhǎngguān; Cantonese Jyutping: hoeng1 gong2 dak6 bit6 hang4 zing3 keoi1... Policy address is the annual address by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong (Governor prior to the handover). ...

No more than 20 questions, excluding urgent questions that may be permitted by the President, may be asked at any one meeting. Replies to questions may be given by designated public officers, usually secretaries, orally or in written form. For questions seeking oral replies, supplementary questions may be put by any member when called upon by the president of the council for the purpose of elucidating that answer. Where there is no debate on a motion with no legislative effect at a meeting, no more than ten questions requiring oral replies may be asked; otherwise, no more than six questions may require an oral reply. A minister or a secretary is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. ...

The Chief Executive, who is the head of the region and head of government, attends Question and Answer Session of the council which are held several times in a legislative year.

Question time in India

Main article: Question Hour

Question Hour is the first hour in Indias Lok Sabha devoted to questions. ...

Question time in Japan

The Diet of Japan held its first question time (党首討論, tōshu tōron^?) on November 10, 1999: the first question asked to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi was "Prime Minister, what did you have for breakfast this morning?" Japan's question time was closely modeled after that of the UK, and many Diet members traveled to the House of Commons to study the British application of the concept.^[2] The National Diet of Japan ) is Japans legislature. ... 1999 was the 11th year of Heisei in Japan. ... Keizo Obuchi Keizo Obuchi (小渕恵三; Obuchi Keizō June 25, 1937–May 14, 2000) was a Japanese politician and the 84th Prime Minister of Japan from July 30, 1998 to April 5, 2000. ...

Question time is 45 minutes long and questions are limited to the leaders of parliamentary caucuses (which must consist of at least ten members of either house). Although it is generally held every week while the Diet is in session, it may be cancelled with the agreement of the opposition: this often happens during the budgeting period and at other times when the Prime Minister must sit in the Diet.

Question time in New Zealand

Oral questions

Questions asked to Ministers must be concise and related to the area of the Minister's responsibility. Questions require that all facts be authenticated. Before a question is asked it is checked that it meets the requirements of the House's Standing orders, before being transmitted to the relevant ministers. A minister or a secretary is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. ...

In New Zealand oral questions are asked at 2pm on each sitting day. Twelve principal oral questions are asked, with supplementary questions also given, but that must relate to the initial subject matter. The opportunity to ask questions is equally shared amongst the members of the house, excluding ministers. Urgent Questions while possible are uncommon.

The Question is addressed to the portfolio of the Minister receiving the question, and the questioner must ask the question as written. Once a question is asked, supplementary questions can be asked.

SKY News New Zealand broadcasts this session from 2pm to the conclusion of questioning. No other sessions screen on this, or any other channel currently in New Zealand. It is unknown whether this will change when Parliamentary coverage screens on New Zealand's planned free-to-air TV network, Freeview. Freeview is a non-profit organisation providing free-to-air digital television and digital radio to New Zealand. ...

Written questions

There is no limit to the written questions that any MP can ask and can be submitted each working day before 10.30am. Submission and publication of the question is an electronic process with no hard copy record. Ministers have 6 days to respond to a question.

External links

• Parliamentary business - Questions for written or oral answer, New Zealand Parliament

References