The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, welcome to the first ever Hybrid Sitting of the House of Lords. Guidance has been issued by the Procedure Committee, which I trust has been helpful. In the coming days we will also be introducing remote voting, which will ensure that we can adhere to public health guidance and also get on with our role of legislating and holding the Government to account. I hope that this new voting procedure will avoid queues and enable all Members of the House to be able to participate.
There is a limited number of Members here in the Chamber, respecting social distancing, and if the capacity of the Chamber were exceeded, I would be forced immediately to adjourn the House. Other Members will participate remotely, but all Members will be treated equally, wherever they are.
For Members participating remotely, microphones will be unmuted shortly before they are to speak. Please accept any onscreen prompt to unmute. Unmuted Members will be muted again after each speech. I ask noble Lords to be patient if there are any short delays as we switch between physical and remote participation. I should also remind the House that our normal courtesies in debate will very much still apply in this new hybrid way of working.