History made as Parliament adopts ‘family-friendly hours’

Today marks the first parliamentary sitting scheduled to start at 4pm, two hours before the customary time as the House moves to more family-friendly hours

MPs could hope for more godly hours in Parliament
MPs could hope for more godly hours in Parliament

Parliamentary sittings on Wednesday will start at 4pm and end at 7.30pm after both sides of the House agreed to a gradual introduction of family-friendly hours.

The first such sitting is happening today.

The move will benefit MPs and employees of Parliament, who have had to contend with late hours between Monday and Wednesday.

Parliament’s normal sittings start at 6pm and end at 9pm, with the half hour until 9.30pm being reserved for the adjournment speech for individual MPs.

Shortly after the 2013 election then Labour MP Deborah Schembri had asked for sittings to start earlier, giving MPs the chance to reunite with their families at a more decent time after the House adjourns.

However, the request failed to gain traction, something that changed after the last election when both sides agreed to a gradual introduction of earlier meeting times.