Modernisation of the House of Commons — Handheld email devices — 25 Oct 2007 at 16:45

The majority voted to accept the recommendation by the Select Committee on the Modernisation of the House of Commons^[1] to permit the use of handheld devices to keep up to date with emails in the Chamber where the votes and speeches take place.

This was done by voting against inserting the statement:

• "...but excluding the proposed acceptance of the Committee's recommendation 35, as set out in paragraph 31 of the Government's response, that the use of handheld devices to keep up to date with emails should be permitted in the Chamber."^[2]

at the end of the motion:

• This House welcomes the First Report of the Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons on Revitalising the Chamber: the role of the back bench Member (House of Commons Paper No. 337)^[3] and approves the proposals for changes in the procedures and practices of the House set out in the Government's response to the report (Cm. 7231),^[4] including the proposals for topical questions.

which passed without a vote following the rejection of the amendment.

• [1] Modernisation Committee
• [2] Brian Binley, House of Commons, 25 October 2007
• [3] First Report of session 2006-07, Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons, 13 June 2007
• [4] Governance of Britain – Revitalising the Chamber: the role of the back bench Member, Office of the Leader of the House of Commons, October 2007

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