HL Deb 18 May 1966 vol 274 cc968-9

2.50 p.m.

Order of the Day read for the consideration of the First Report from the Select Committee.

The Committee's Report was as follows:

1. GARTER'S ROLL OF THE LORDS

The Committee have reviewed the arrangements under which Garter King of Arms produces for each Parliament and lays upon the Table of the House an illuminated and hand written Roll of the Lords Temporal. They have considered the value of this Roll as a parliamentary record in relation both to its cost and to the fact that the whole of its contents is included in the Roll of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, which is prepared at the beginning of each Session and laid on the Table by the Clerk of the Parliaments. The Committee recommend that the production of Garter's Roll be discontinued. They further recommend that with the continued cooperation of Garter King of Arms, a suitably printed and bound Record copy of the Clerk of the Parliaments' Roll of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal should be produced each session.

2. DIVISIONS

The Committee have considered the question of the action to be taken when numerical discrepancies are discovered between the Tellers' figures and the Division lists kept by the Clerks. The Committee's conclusions and recommendations are set out below:—

  1. (1) The responsibility for counting the votes rests with the Tellers, and once their figures have been announced to the House, these figures stand as authoritative, unless and until corrected by a further announcement in the House.
  2. (2) If a discrepancy is discovered between the Tellers' figures and the lists of the Division Clerks, this should be reported as soon as possible to the Tellers with a view to their reconciling the inconsistency.
  3. (3) If the Tellers agree that a correction is needed, this correction should be announced to the House at the earliest possible moment from the Woolsack or the Chair.
  4. (4) If the correction involves the reversal of a decision of the House and the House has taken further action on the basis of the mistaken announcement, any proceedings taken on the basis of that announcement should, unless irreversible, be vacated.
  5. (5) If after consultation with the Tellers, no reconciliation is possible and the discrepancy remains unexplained, a note should be appended to the Division List in the Journals, drawing attention to the discrepancy between the numbers announced and the numbers recorded.

THE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES (THE EARL OF LISTOWEL)

My Lords, I beg to move that this Report be now considered.

Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to.

THE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES

My Lords, in moving that this Report be agreed to I should like to draw the attention of the House to the fact that the Committee made a second Report concerned with procedural matters, including those arising out of the debate on the Motion on Procedure of the noble Lord, Lord Alport, on April 29, 1965. This Report, which is lying on the Table, is now available to Peers in the Printed Paper Office. I am not asking the House to consider and approve the Report for the time being, as I think it would be an advantage to noble Lords to have sufficient time to digest its contents before it is considered by the House. My Lords, I beg to move.

Moved, That the Report be agreed to. —(The Chairman of Committees.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.