Arrangement of Business
Debate between Lord Kennedy of Southwark and Lord Falconer of Thoroton
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)
My Lords, as I have done on previous days, I will make a short statement about proceedings today before we start Committee. Everything I am about to say remains in line with how business usually would move forward, and how it has done so on the previous two days of Committee. The Government Whips’ Office distributed an updated list of groupings to noble Lords yesterday, and my noble and learned friend Falconer of Thoroton has set a target for today’s debate.
The Government remain neutral, but I highlight that we only considered three groups in the two previous days, with only one group debated on the last sitting Friday. I hope that noble Lords can make much greater progress today to ensure that a wider range of important amendments can be scrutinised in the time available. I remind noble Lords that there is significant public interest in the Bill, and there are strongly held views both for and against it. It is right that all sides undertake detailed scrutiny, but also that we seek to make much more progress.
This is Committee, so participants in the debate should address their remarks to the amendments under consideration and not make long Second Reading speeches that go way beyond the substance of the amendments being debated. This should help us make progress at Committee.
Many times before, when standing at this Dispatch Box as Government Chief Whip, and previously when standing at the opposite Dispatch Box as Opposition Chief Whip, I have stressed the importance of the Companion to assist us in our debate, and I do so again today. In particular, I refer noble Lords to page 143, point 8.81, which makes it clear that noble Lords should not
“summarise or repeat at length points made by others”,
nor “make ‘second reading’ speeches”, and that the points made should be relevant to the amendments being discussed. Furthermore, point 8.82 on page 143 says that, when withdrawing amendments, noble Lords should be brief. We also do not take interventions on interventions. If a noble Lord is intervened on, it is for brief questions of clarification, not a speech. Point 4.29 on page 60 makes that clear for all Members.
I am sure that all noble Lords will want to show the House at its best. I urge all noble Lords participating to continue to debate the issues before the House with the usual courtesy and respect that we all expect, and not to let themselves or the House down by doing anything other than that. As I did on the last sitting Friday, I remind the House that the microphones in the House are sensitive. A noble Lord should take care with conversations and remarks made in the Chamber that they would not want broadcast live. If noble Lords wish to speak to other colleagues, please do so outside the Chamber to avoid disrupting the debate. I recommend the Long Room, the Peers’ Guest Room and the Royal Gallery as ideal places to go.
Finally, to help colleagues in planning their day, I expect the House to again rise at a convenient point around 3pm. It could be slightly before or after that, but proceedings will end around that time. I will return to the House this afternoon to make a further statement to help colleagues conclude the debate.
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Lab)
I thank the Chief Whip for his statement. I also express the gratitude of the whole House, especially those involved in this, for the work done by his office, in particular by Michael Bleakley, in tabling groupings in a very difficult situation; I pay tribute to him. We have approximately seven days left to get through Committee, which I believe we can do with good will. For my part, that means that I must ensure that I demonstrate and listen to the concerns of this House, which I will do.
Arrangement of Business
Debate between Lord Kennedy of Southwark and Lord Falconer of Thoroton
Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)
The Whips’ Office will shortly distribute draft groupings of amendments to noble Lords in the usual manner. As the Government are neutral, any changes requested will simply be actioned. The sponsor, my noble and learned friend Lord Falconer of Thoroton, will lead on negotiating any changes, should he wish to do so. The Government will then communicate the final groupings in the usual manner to aid the Committee in having an orderly debate. This is the normal practice, including for PMBs that the Government do not support that have Committee stages.
My noble and learned friend Lord Falconer of Thoroton will set a target at the end of today to aid colleagues in knowing when they might need to prepare speeches for or whether topics they know about or are interested in may be debated tomorrow. We expect the House to rise at a convenient point around 3 pm as per the usual conventions of the House. We will maintain the typical flexibility of the House and might need to rise slightly beyond or before this point to conclude groups being debated. This ensures orderly debate, and the spirit of good business management means that we do not have to undertake the complex exercise of noting down everyone in attendance to ensure that they are there when the group resumes on a subsequent day. It also aids the overall flow of debate on such an important topic. At the conclusion of the final group, at a convenient point, I will move to adjourn the House.
I ask all noble Lords to respect the usual conventions regarding speaking times in Committee and to respect all noble Lords who are speaking in the debate. The Whips, of course, will continue to monitor the debate in the usual manner. Finally, this is most important: sincere views are held on all sides regarding this Bill. Please respect that and, tomorrow and in the upcoming debates, remember courtesy and respect, and show those watching the House of Lords at its best. I trust that if we continue to respect each other, we will have a thought-provoking debate tomorrow.
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Lab)
My Lords, I echo what the Chief Whip has said in relation to the enormous amount of work that has gone into producing the Marshalled List. I also strongly echo what he has said about the temper of the debate, which must do credit to the House. Thirdly, I invite any Member of the House who wishes to degroup pursuant to the suggested groupings from the Whips’ Office today to approach me so that we can discuss an orderly way of dealing with these amendments. Finally, I have been told this morning that 900-plus amendments is the highest-ever number of amendments to a Bill, and I am wondering what conclusion I should draw from that.