About an hour of every day's business in the House is
given up to ministerial questions. This gives backbench
MPs the opportunity to seek information they might not
otherwise have access to about the Government's
policies. They are also used to raise grievances brought
to an MP's attention by constituents. Frequently, they
are used by the Government as a prompt for a public
statement, using 'inspired' questions raised by backbenchers
on the Government side.
There are complex rules about the form in which questions are put.
All questions must be notified in advance, but the MP may also ask a supplementary question. Often it is this second question which is designed to catch the Minister out.
