Dear Ashley Collins,

Freedom of Information request F17-447

Thank you for your request for information dated 31 October 2017, received
by us on the same date, which is copied below.

We will endeavour to respond to your request promptly but in any case
within 20 working days i.e. on or before 28 November 2017.

If you have any queries about your request, please use the request number
quoted above and in the subject line of this email.

Yours sincerely,

Sarah Price

IRIS Support Officer
Information Rights and Information Security (IRIS) Service | House of
Commons

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Click [2]here for details about Freedom of Information

in the House of Commons and to see what we publish.

Dear Ashley Collins,

Freedom of Information request F17-447

Thank you for your request for information as copied below. You asked for
a full breakdown of the attendance of MPs to all meetings that have been
seated in the House of Commons from 27 October 2016 to 27 October 2017,
including any reasons for non-attendance if justification is provided.

This information is not held by the House of Commons because no records
are kept of MPs’ attendance in the House. Members of Parliament are not
employees of the House of Commons and are not obliged by parliamentary
rules to attend the House - or justify their whereabouts to the House - at
any time. Political parties may make demands of their MPs, but that is a
matter for them.

It may help you to know that some details of debates in the Chamber - such
as Members who speak and records of votes (divisions) - are recorded by
the Official Report, also known as Hansard. Reference to this record will
provide some idea of who was present in the Chamber, but it is not a full
record of all attendees because Members who do not speak or vote are not
recorded. Hansard is available on the parliamentary web site here:
[1]https://hansard.parliament.uk/.

You may also wish to know that business in the Chamber is recorded and
available to view on Parliamentlive.tv. It may be possible to identify
which MP’s are present in the Chamber from these recordings. Parliament TV
is available on the parliamentary web site here:
[2]http://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/3d3....

Members who attend Select Committees are listed at the top of the of each
evidence session, which is published on the committee’s web pages. The
committee pages are available here:
[3]http://www.parliament.uk/business/commit....
 Furthermore, each edition of the Sessional Returns provides details of
committee membership and the number of meetings attended. The direct link
to the Sessional Returns is here:
[4]http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa....

It is important to note that MPs may carry out a significant amount of
work outside the Chamber and committees, so any indicators of attendance
within Parliament as detailed above may not be an accurate indicator of
their ‘attendance’ for the purposes of their whole role. Members may also
carry out day-to-day work from their offices in Westminster, in their
constituencies, or even from home, as well as attend events, run surgeries
for constituents, visit local businesses, etc. Members who are Ministers
often conduct departmental business in their Ministry offices and also
represent their Departments at home and abroad.

You may wish to consider contacting Members directly to ask for the
information you seek, contact details are available at:
[5]http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-o.... However, Members
of Parliament are not public authorities for the purposes of the Freedom
of Information Act. This means that they are not obliged to respond to
requests made under the Act. Similarly, the Act does not apply to
political parties.

You may, if dissatisfied with the handling of your request, complain to
the House of Commons. Alternatively, if you are dissatisfied with the
outcome of your request you may ask the House of Commons to conduct an
internal review of any decision regarding your request. Complaints or
requests for internal review should be addressed to: Information Rights
and Information Security Service, Department of HR and Change, House of
Commons, London SW1A 0AA or [6][House of Commons request email]. Please ensure
that you specify the full reasons for your complaint or internal review
along with 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,
[7]www.ico.gov.uk.

Yours sincerely,

Sarah Price

IRIS Support Officer
Information Rights and Information Security (IRIS) Service | House of
Commons

[8]cid:image002.jpg@01D02B64.34D76640

Click [9]here for details about Freedom of Information

in the House of Commons and to see what we publish.