BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE. (Hansard, 11 April 1946)

§ LORD AMMON
My Lords, owing to demands upon Parliamentary time, and the desirability of sending Bills now before this House back to another place, for the consideration there of any Amendments which your Lordships may have made in them, with a view to their securing the Royal Assent before Easter, it has been necessary to make certain alterations in the legislative programme which we propose for next week. I am afraid that we shall have to ask the House to meet on Monday next, for the purpose of concluding the consideration of the Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) and the Housing (Financial and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bills, the Committee stages of which we are taking this afternoon. There will be a Royal Commission on Monday afternoon, probably at four o'clock, immediately after the House has met. After that, we shall proceed to the remaining stages of the two Bills, which are so important in connexion with the housing programme, which we are considering this afternoon. As already announced, there will be a formal sitting of the House on Thursday, the 18th, before we rise for the Easter Recess, when there will be another Royal Commission for giving the Royal Assent to the Army and Air Force (Annual) Bill and any other Bills which may then be awaiting a Commission.
May I remind your Lordships that we shall reassemble on Tuesday, April 30, at half past two o'clock, when the principal business will be the debate on the Second Reading of the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Bill. There is every indication that the number of your Lordships wishing to take part will be so large that it will be necessary to carry the debate over, and conclude it on the following day, Wednesday, May 1. We 710 much regret that this may mean displacing the business which is already on the Order Paper for that day, as we shall ask the House to take the adjourned debate on the Trade Unions Bill first, and it appears likely that it will extend over the whole of the sitting that day.

§ VISCOUNT SWINTON
My Lords, it is obviously quite reasonable that we should be asked to sit on Monday. We appreciate that these Bills must be disposed of. There is only one point I would like to ask. The noble Lord did not say at what time the House will sit on Thursday next. I take it that it will be in the morning.

§ LORD AMMON
Twelve o'clock.

§ THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL (THE EARL OF LISTOWEL)
My Lords, I beg to move that an humble Address be presented to His Majesty praying that the Government of Burma and the Government of India Orders named on the Paper be made in the form of drafts approved by your Lordships on March 21 last.