attendance of M P s records

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Dear House of Commons,

I would like the attendance of MP's member by member out of a possibly number for period from January 2012 till August2012

Yours faithfully, Bernard Hallam

FOICOMMONS, House of Commons

Dear Mr Hallam,

Thank you for your request for information which is copied below.

Members of Parliament are not obliged by parliamentary rules to attend the House at any time. Political parties may make demands of their MPs, but that is a matter for them. Therefore no records are kept of an MP's attendance at Parliament; however you may be able to look at an MP's voting records to ascertain their attendance in the chamber, although this may give you a distorted picture of their attendance as they may be present in the chamber and decide not to vote (abstentions are not recorded in Hansard). Likewise, the transcript of debates in the House, known as Hansard, records only those Members who speak.

Hansard is available on the parliament web site www.parliament.uk by clicking on:

- Publications and records

- Commons Hansard

The direct link is as follows:

URL: http://www.parliament.uk/business/public...

Hansard is normally available on the web site at 8.00 am on the next working day. It is easiest to access material by date (and column number), but if you do not know the date there is also a search engine. Alternatively, the House of Commons Information Office can perform a search for you using the parliamentary database.

Furthermore, you can also access Hansard by Member and view contributions made by MPs during the current session, sorted by date or subject heading. The direct link can be found below:

URL: http://www.parliament.uk/business/public...

For Select Committees, the members that attended are listed at the top of the of each evidence session. Furthermore, each edition of the Sessional Returns provides details of membership and the number of meetings attended. The direct link to the Sessional Returns is as follows:

URL: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa...

For public bill committees, the full membership of the committee is listed and the Members who attended each particular sitting are asterisked.

Erskine May, the authority on parliamentary procedure states:

"On ordinary occasions the attendance of Members in Parliament is not enforced by either House.

In the House of Lords the name of every Lord present during the sitting of the House is taken down each day by the Clerks and entered in the Journals. In the Commons ensuring attendance has become a function of party machinery, and the Whips of the various parties make it their duty to secure adequate representation for all important divisions. The Minutes of Committees include attendance lists and these, together with the publication of division lists and records of debate in the Official Report, allow Members to demonstrate their regular attendance in Parliament."
Erskine May, Parliamentary Practice, p.47

Erskine May also mentions what action would be taken should a Member refuse to attend a private bill committee:

"If the Committee of Selection is dissatisfied with a Member's excuse, it will require him to serve upon a committee, when his attendance will become obligatory, and if necessary may be enforced by the House."
Erskine May, Parliamentary Practice, p.975

In addition, from the parliament home page you can access the text of debates shortly after they have taken place via the 'Today in the Commons' link which can be accessed at:
URL: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa...

Finally, the parliament website also has a page on divisions which can be accessed at:

URL: http://www.parliament.uk/useful/ul_divis...

You may, if dissatisfied with the treatment of your request, ask the House of Commons to conduct an internal review of this decision. Requests for internal review should be addressed to: Freedom of Information Officer, Department of HR and Change, House of Commons London SW1 0AA or [House of Commons request email]. Please ensure that you specify the nature of your complaint and any arguments or points that you wish to make.

If you remain dissatisfied, you may appeal to the Information Commissioner at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely

Katarina Ndrepepaj | Freedom of Information Coordinator
Information Rights and Information Security (IRIS) Service
House of Commons

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