Recall of Parliament

A recall of Parliament is a parliamentary procedure involving an extraordinary sitting of a parliament, occurring outside the usual time when that parliament would usually meet, such as over a weekend, or when the parliament would normally be in recess. A parliament is generally recalled as a result of events of major national importance, thus allowing members to hold an emergency debate on issues relating to those events. In the United Kingdom, decisions as to whether the House of Commons or House of Lords should be recalled are the responsibility of the Speakers of those individual bodies, and are usually taken following a request from the government. This follows a 2001 recommendation from the Hansard Society Commission on Parliamentary Scrutiny that "the Speaker of the Commons should have the ability to recall Parliament at times of emergency".