§ Order read for consideration of Lords amendments.
§ 10.26 p.m.
§ Mr. Brian O'Malley (Rotherham)On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I was seeking to raise the point earlier and I was prevented from so doing by the curious and inexplicable rules of this House. I see that the Whip is laughing. I occupied his position for a number of years but I failed to understand the relevance of some of these rules. The Lords amendments with which we shall be dealing were first available to hon. Members at 7.30 this morning. I was not in this House at that hour and I doubt whether any other hon. Member was.
We are faced with 104 pages of amendments, made largely by the Government. It is the customary statement of the Chairman of Committees and of Mr. Speaker when selecting amendments during Committee and Report stages of a Bill to say that they would not be prepared to consider starred amendments which appear on the Order Paper for the first time. Yet this House this evening is being asked to consider 104 pages of extremely technical and difficult amendments when the House has been given no proper opportunity to consider them and their implications or to discuss them with organisations outside the House.
I realise immediately that you will say, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that the selection of the business of the House is a matter for the Government and not for the Chair and that the Chair cannot intervene in this matter. Of course, I accept that. I do not raise that matter in my point of order. Nor do I raise the fact that for this number of amendments to appear on the Order Paper is an appalling reflection on the competence of the Department which is responsible for the Bill. In my point of order I ask the Chair to give protection to hon. Members on both sides to see that this kind of interlude and caper does not happen again. It does not give hon. Members time properly to consider the amendments.
The Under-Secretary has given me personally as much help as he can and as much information as possible on the 173 amendments. Obviously, however, this kind of information does not go to the whole of the House. I hope that the Chair will say to any Government in the future that it will not be prepared to see hon. Members treated in this way. I hope that we can be given some protection because we are dealing, in effect, with starred amendments on which there has been no opportunity for discussion. According to a letter I received from the Public Bill Office a few minutes before 10 o'clock the amendments contain certain inaccuracies.
I hope that the Chair will say that Lords amendments should be treated in the same way as starred amendments are treated at the Committee and Report stages, which is that they are not selected for debate on the first day on which they are available to this House.
§ 10.30 p.m.
§ Mr. Deputy Speaker (Mr. E. L. Mallalieu)I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for having given me warning that he would raise this point of order. It is not a matter for the Chair. The House may make what arrangements it likes and the Chair must abide by the arrangements already made. Therefore, I cannot give the hon. Gentleman the protection he asks for.
As for the inaccuracies, I gather that they are of very minor importance and will be dealt with when they are reached.
§ Lords amendments considered.