Welcome to the NFU's Parliamentary Publications page. Here you will find the latest versions of the main documents our government and parliamentary affairs team produces.
At the top of the page in the 'Related Docs' section there are some introductory documents explaining a range of things to do with our Westminster office and the workings of Parliament.
At the bottom of the page there's a rough guide to the various types of information contained within each document published on this page.
Click on the links to open the documents below. The Parliamentary Lobbying Brief is at the top of this page in related documents (members only).
- This Week in Parliament - A brief summary of all the upcoming parliamentary business with relevance to the NFU. Updated - 14.05.12.
- The Weekly Monitor - A weekly summary of all parliamentary business which concerns NFU members, this includes coverage of parliamentary questions, ministerial statements, Early Day Motions and more. Updated - 04.05.12.
How to use the NFU’s Parliamentary Publications...
There are various ways that issues are raised in Parliament. This section sets out the procedures and practices surrounding ‘parliamentary business’ in order to help you understand the content of our parliamentary publications.
Oral Questions
- Possibly one of the most direct and spectacular means of holding ministers to account and establishing where government policy is heading, oral question sessions are the battleground of departmental politics. Each department has an oral questions session around once a month and the Hansard transcript and video record are linked to in the Parliamentary Update so you can see what’s been discussed.
Select Committees
- Another key means of ministerial accountability, select committees hold regular sessions which follow various lines of inquiry. Ministers are often called to give evidence at these sessions but the committees can invite external organisations to be witnesses at these sessions. The NFU has in the past been called to give evidence in select committee inquiries and regularly submits written evidence to relevant inquiries. The Hansard transcript and video record of these sessions are linked to in the Parliamentary Update so you can hear and read how inquiries are progressing.
Parliamentary Debates
- While bill debates take up much of the time available in the main chambers of the Houses of Commons and Lords, there is some time allotted for general debates in the chambers. In addition to this, there is the opportunity to have a specific debate in Westminster Hall. These are usually smaller-scale debates on very specific topics which are instigated by MPs who may ask the NFU for our opinion on the issue. As with other ‘live’ events, the transcript and video record are linked to in the Parliamentary Update.
Written Questions and Answers
- One of the most common ways for issues to be raised with government ministers is through written questions. MPs (sometimes with the help of the NFU lobbying team), can pose written questions to ministers about any topic which falls within the scope of the minister’s responsibilities. These are normally on very specific issues but can be broader policy questions.
- All the written questions and answers with relevance to our members are pulled together in The Weekly Monitor in the ‘Written Answers’ section. These are mainly questions to the DEFRA ministerial team but there can be questions from other government departments which are important to our work so we keep a careful look-out for any questions with relevance to our members.
Written Ministerial Statements
- On major issues of government policy, ministers may make written statements to the House of Commons or Lords. These are recorded in the Parliamentary Hansard reports and included in The Weekly Monitor.
Early Day Motions
- EDMs are a means for parliamentarians to express concern or congratulations on a particular topic which may not be appropriate for a bill or other political instrument. While they have no statutory power, they can be a useful tool in establishing the attitude of individual MPs to particular issues and assessing what topics are getting parliamentary coverage.
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