Manner of Asking and Answering Questions

(1) At the time appointed for the oral asking and answering of questions under Standing Order No. 13 (Order of Business), the President shall call in turn upon each Senator in whose name a question stands upon the Order Paper, in the order in which the questions are printed, or in any such other order as the President may on any particular occasion determine. Each Belize Constitution 117 Senator so called shall rise in his place and ask the question by reference to its number on the Order Paper, and the Minister questioned shall give his reply. (2) After the answer to a question has been given, supplementary questions may, at the discretion of the President, be put for the purpose of elucidating the answer given orally, but the President may refuse any such question which in his opinion introduces matters not relative to the original question, or which infringes any of the provisions of Standing Order No. 18 (Contents of Questions), and may in that case direct that such question be not reported in the Official Report. (3) When all the questions for which an oral answer is required have been called, the President, if time permits, shall call again any question which has not been asked by reason of the absence of the Senator in whose name it stands; in which case another Senator may, if deputed by the absent Senator, on his behalf either ask the question or request its postponement. The President shall also call again any question which has not been answered by reason of the absence of the Minister to whom it is addressed. (4) A Minister may decline to answer a question, if the publication of the answer would in his opinion be contrary to the public interest. (5) Not more than three questions requiring an oral answer shall appear on the Order Paper in the name of the same Senator for the same day, and any question in excess of this number shall not be called by the President but shall be answered as provided in paragraph (7) of this Standing Order, save that no postponement shall be allowed. (6) No question shall be asked later than forty-five minutes after the opening of the sitting, except any question which the President has allowed to be asked without notice under paragraph (1) of Standing Order No. 17 (Notice of Questions). 118 Belize Constitution (7) In any case where, forty-five minutes after the opening of the sitting of the Senate, a question has not received an oral answer, it shall be answered in writing by the Minister to whom the question was addressed, and copies of the answer shall be sent immediately after that hour to the Clerk of the Senate, who shall send a copy to the Senator in whose name the question stood upon the Order Paper and shall cause the answer to be circulated with the Minutes of Proceedings, unless, at any time earlier than forty-five minutes after the opening of the sitting, a Senator having a question on the Order Paper but whose name has not yet been called by the President, signifies to the Clerk at the Table his desire to postpone the question to a subsequent sitting of the Senate or to withdraw it.