Arrangement of Business

Lord Geddes Excerpts

Tuesday 28th April 2026 Lords Chamber

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

My Lords, I thought it would be useful to update noble Lords on the plan for business for today. After consideration of a number of statutory instrument approval Motions, the House will consider the message from the House of Commons on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. We will then move on to four Statements on today’s list. During the afternoon or evening, we will receive messages from the Commons on the Pension Schemes Bill and the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill.

After each message has arrived and the Bill is available in the Printed Paper Office, noble Lords will have 30 minutes to table any Motions. The precise deadlines for tabling will be advertised on the annunciator and via the usual channels in the usual way. I would, however, strongly encourage any noble Lords considering tabling to discuss this in advance with the Public Bill Office. After the tabling deadlines have passed and all the necessary papers are ready, we will consider the pensions Bill and the devolution Bill.

I expect that we will need to adjourn the House after the Statements and resume once we are ready to consider the Bills, but I will update the House via the annunciator and usual channels once the timings are clear. Once the consideration of both Bills is complete this evening, the House will adjourn and not sit to consider further messages from the Commons this evening.

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord Geddes) (Con)]

My Lords, with the leave of the House and before it commences its next business, since this is my swan song, I would like to speak personally. I will be brief—when have we heard that before?

It has been an enormous, and I mean enormous, privilege to have been a Member of your Lordships’ House for 51 years, of which I have had the very real honour of being a Deputy Speaker for 26. With very few exceptions, I can honestly say that I have enjoyed every minute of those years, and I hope that I have pulled my weight—albeit the bathroom scales may not think so. I thank all Members and staff for their friendliness and forbearance, particularly at my not infrequent interjections of “Order” and moments of stony silence when standing in this position at the transgressions of some Members. To paraphrase the noble Baroness, Lady Jay, in 1999: “a huge thank you to you all, and farewell”.