Liaison Committee

Lord Marlesford Excerpts

Thursday 21st March 2013 Lords Chamber

I do not know whether other Members agree, but there is money available for any issue to do with security here—for example, if Black Rod wants to try yet another way of getting cars in and out. If heads of state visit, money is available without question or challenge. However, if it is just a matter of us continuing to be more effective in our scrutiny, there is a challenge or question about money. We ought to try to have a little thought about our priorities and a discussion about making more resources available for the most valuable work that this House does in scrutiny.

[Lord Marlesford]

My Lords, I support what the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, said. I would take an approach totally different from that which the Liaison Committee seems to have taken. The House of Lords exists; it has just survived a major onslaught and an attempt to dismantle it. For the moment, we are here. It is an incredibly valuable and low-cost outfit, and it is mad not to maximise its capability to do committee work. The constraint should be the availability of Members of the House of Lords to do that work, not some cash-limit approach. We have something that is extremely valuable, and the committee should take a totally different approach on maximising the output of the House of Lords in the national interest.

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean]

My Lords, I am very happy to sit at the feet of the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, when it comes to having lots to say. I have two short questions for the Chairman of Committees. I wrote to him suggesting that we had a foreign affairs committee. In a global world where we have to make progress outside the European Community from an economic point of view, it seems extraordinary that we do not have such a committee. I understand the reasons for constraint on resources, but can he explain why it costs £225,000 to run a Select Committee of this House? Where does the money go?