Arrangement of Business

Lord Kennedy of Southwark Excerpts

Friday 21st November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, before we move on to the second day in Committee on the terminally ill adults Bill, I will make a statement about proceedings, as I did last week. I hope this will again help with planning, and it is in line with how business proceeded last Friday.

First, I again thank on behalf of all Members the staff in the Public Bill Office, who have again had to work late into the evening, well beyond anything that is reasonable, to deal with more than 1,000 amendments to the Bill. On behalf of the whole House, I also thank the clerks, doorkeepers, attendants, Hansard staff, the broadcasting unit, catering staff, security staff and police, who have supported the preparation for this important second day in Committee and are delivering for the House today.

The Government Whips’ Office circulated the updated grouping list yesterday. My noble and learned friend Lord Falconer of Thoroton has proposed a target for today’s debate. As was the case last week, I expect the House to rise at a convenient point around 3 pm. In line with the usual procedures and in line with the Companion, we maintain the typical flexibility to rise slightly before or slightly beyond this point in order to conclude the group being debated. Ultimately, this remains in the hands of the Committee. I will return to the Dispatch Box this afternoon to further advise the Committee if I think that will be useful. There are a few other points that I wish to make before we begin today’s Committee.

It is important to remind ourselves that this is Committee, so noble Lords should address their remarks to the amendments under consideration and not make long Second Reading speeches going way beyond the substance of the amendments being debated. The Second Reading of the Bill has passed; it lasted two long days. I expect, as I believe all noble Lords do, that despite sincerely held views and differences of opinion, we will at all times conduct ourselves with courtesy and respect for each other and show the House of Lords in the best possible light to the public watching our debates. Please refrain from doing anything that will bring that into question.

The acoustics are excellent in this Chamber and the microphones very sensitive, and noble Lords should not be holding conversations in the Chamber or making remarks that they would not like to be broadcast live. If your Lordships wish to speak to other noble Lords, please retire to the Prince’s Chamber, the Royal Gallery, the Peers’ Lobby or the Long Room, and return when the conversation has ended. Several noble Lords contacted me after last Friday’s debate to express their frustration with other noble Lords who spent large parts of the debate talking to others around them and causing annoyance and inconvenience. Please do not do this.

I reiterate that the Bill before us today is a Private Member’s Bill, and the Member in charge of the Bill is my noble and learned friend Lord Falconer of Thoroton, not the Ministers on the Front Bench. This is not a government Bill, and it will not become a government Bill. The Government remain neutral on the Bill, and that position is not going to change. After those opening remarks to assist the House, we should now move on to debate the issues of substance before us.