HL Deb 12 May 1970 vol 310 cc496-501

2.55 p.m.

THE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES (THE EARL OF LISTOWEL)

My Lords, I beg to move that the First Report from the Select Committee on Procedure of the House be now considered.

Moved accordingly, and on Question, Motion agreed to.

The Committee's Report was as follows:

1. COMMITTEE STAGE OF PUBLIC BILLS

The Committee have considered a proposal by the Leader of the House for curtailing proceedings on public Bills in Committee of the whole House, where no amendment has been set down to a Bill and no notice has been given by any Lord of his intention to move a manuscript amendment or speak to a particular clause. At present the House normally resolves itself into a Committee upon such a Bill, in accordance with Standing Order No. 42. The Lord Chancellor leaves the Woolsack and the Lord Chairman, with the agreement of the Committee, puts the question that he should report the Bill to the House without amendment. Provided there is no objection, he then moves: "That the House be resumed". The Lord Chancellor then returns to the Woolsack and the Lord Chairman says: "My Lords, the Committee of the Whole House to whom the … Bill was committed have gone through the same and have directed me to report it to your Lordships without amendment".

The right to a Committee Stage is provided by Standing Order No. 42 which reads: "Unless the House otherwise orders, Bills are committed after the Second Reading for a date to be appointed". Under the proposed new procedure Bills would continue to be automatically committed by an Order of the House to a Committee of the Whole House, unless the Committee Stage has been negatived immediately after Second Reading. But in cases where no Lord has either put down an amendment, or made known his intention to move a manuscript amendment or to speak to a particular clause, it would be open to the Lord in charge of the Bill to move that "the order of commitment be discharged".

The Committee wish to preserve the right to a Committee stage, if such is desired by any single Lord, and they therefore recommend the proposed new procedure to the House, subject to the following safeguards:—

  1. (a) That the Motion for the discharge of the Order of Commitment should only be moved on the day appointed for the Committee Stage.
  2. (b) That if a single Lord objects, the question on the Motion for the discharge of the order of commitment should not be put and the House should proceed at once into Committee.
  3. (c) That unless Standing Order No. 41 has been suspended, the Third Reading of a Bill should not be taken on the same day as that on which the order of commitment has been discharged.
  4. (d) That the Motion for the discharge of the order of commitment should not be moved without due notice.

It is not intended that this new procedure should replace the "Committee Negatived" procedure, under which the House decides immediately after Second Reading not to make an order for the House to go into Committee on a particular Bill. That procedure applies only to a limited category of Public Bills, such as Supply Bills, some Money Bills, some Bills to ratify treaties, or Bills which are being accelerated in cases where the House has agreed to suspend Standing Order No. 41.

The Committee recommend the following amendments to Standing Orders:

Standing Order No. 41 ("No two stages of a Bill to be taken on one day")—at end insert "or the order of commitment is discharged".

Standing Order No. 42—insert the following new paragraph:

"2.If, at the time appointed for the House to go into Committee on a Bill, no amendment has been set down and it appears that no Lord wishes to speak to the Bill or to table a manuscript amendment, the Lord in charge of the Bill may, having given notice, move 'That the order of commitment be discharged'; provided that no such Motion may be put to the question if a single Lord objects." Side note to Standing Order No. 42 should be altered to read "Commitment of Bills".

In addition the Committee recommend that the Lord who is to move the discharge of the order of commitment should use the following form of words: My Lords, I understand that no amendments have been set down to this Bill, and that no Noble Lord has indicated a wish to move a manuscript amendment, or to speak in Committee. Unless, therefore, any Noble Lord objects, I beg to move that the order of commitment be discharged.

The Committee recommend that a passage should be included in the revised Companion to the Standing Orders to explain the new procedure clearly so that Peers may understand the procedure and be aware of their right to have a Committee Stage on any public Bill, unless the House otherwise orders.

2. UNSTARRED QUESTIONS: CONTINUING THE DEBATE AFTER THE GOVERNMENT HAS REPLIED

The Committee note that there have been a number of occasions when the debate on Unstarred Questions has been continued after the Government reply has been given. This practice has been considered by the Sub-Committee on Observances and Customary Behaviour in the House (see paragraph 13 of the Sub-Committee's Report in Appendix A).

The Committee recommend that in future:

  1. (a) procedure on Unstarred Questions should be regulated by a decision of the House that it is undesirable for Lords to continue the debate after the Government reply has been given, save for questions to the Minister before he sits down;
  2. (b) that Standing Order No. 28 ("No Lord to speak twice on one matter") should be amended so as to apply explicitly to Unstarred Questions as well as Motions.

They further recommend that guidance on the use of Unstarred Questions should be included in a revision to the Companion to the Standing Orders. They have invited the Companion Sub-Committee to give further consideration to the possibility of devising as an alternative to the Unstarred Question some other form of short debate on a motion at the end of a day's business.

3. CONVERSION OF SESSIONAL ORDERS INTO STANDING ORDERS

The Committee recommend that the Sessional Orders passed in the opening days of each new session in relation to—

  1. (a) The setting up of the Appellate and Appeal Committees of the House; and
  2. (b) The recall of the House during adjournment;

should be replaced by Standing Orders, thereby obviating the need for such Sessional Orders to be passed without notice. The Committee recommend that the new Standing Orders should be in the following terms:

Appellate and Appeal Committees.

1. For the purposes of its appellate jurisdiction, the House shall have Appellate and Appeal Committees, of which all Lords qualified under the Appellate Jurisdiction Acts 1876 and 1887 shall be members.

2. These Committees shall be:—

  1. (a) two Appellate Committees, which shall hear any cause or matter referred to them and shall report thereon to the House;
  2. (b) two Appeal Committees, which shall consider any petition or application for leave to appeal that may be referred to them and any matter relating thereto, or to causes depending, or formerly depending, in this House, and shall report thereon to the House.

3. In any criminal matter, or in any matter concerning extradition, an Appeal Committee may take decisions and give directions on behalf of the House.

4. The Lord Chancellor, if present, or in his absence the senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary present, shall take the chair in any Appellate or Appeal Committee.

5. For the purposes of the preceding paragraph, seniority shall be determined by reference to the date of first appointment to the office of Lord of Appeal in Ordinary without regard to rank in the Peerage.

6. For the purposes of section 8 of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876, any Appellate Committee may sit and act while Parliament is prorogued.

Recall of the House

1. If, during any adjournment of the House, the Lord Chancellor is satisfied that the public interest requires that the House should meet at a time earlier than that appointed, he may signify that he is so satisfied and notice shall be given and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in the notice, as if it had been duly adjourned to that time.

2. If the Lord Chancellor is unable to act for the purposes of this Standing Order, the Chairman of Committees, after consultation with Her Majesty's Government, may act in his stead.

4. REVISION OF THE COMPANION TO THE STANDING ORDERS

The Committee have authorised the Clerk of the Parliaments to prepare and publish a new edition of the Companion to the Standing Orders and Guide to the Proceedings of the House of Lords relating to public business, last published in 1963. In order to aid in the process of revising the Companion, the Committee authorised the setting up of a Sub-Committee to be known as the Companion Sub-Committee with the following members—

The Chairman of Committees (E. Listowel)

with the Clerk of the Parliaments and with the power to co-opt further members.

5. MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

The Committee have considered the proposal by Lord Archibald that the form and content of the Minutes of Proceedings should be reviewed and recommend that this should be considered by the Companion Sub-Committee on the understanding that priority be given to the preparation of the Companion.

6. ALTERATIONS OF STARRED QUESTIONS AND MOTIONS

The Committee recommend that any Motion or Question on the Order Paper be "daggered" whenever any material alteration is made to the text, in order to draw the attention of members of the House and of Government departments to the alteration.

7. OBSERVANCES

The Procedure Committee set up a Sub-Committee on 25th March, 1969, to consider the Observances and Customary Behaviour in the House. The Sub-Committee consisted of—

The Chairman of Committees (E.Listowel)

with the Clerk of the Parliaments.

After a number of meetings, the Sub-Committee made a Report, the text of which the Procedure Committee have now considered and endorsed, subject to certain minor amendments. They recommend that the substance of this Report (as amended) should be included in the revised Companion to the Standing Orders. The text of the Report (as amended) is attached as an Appendix to this Report and it is hoped that in general it will serve as useful guidance for Peers, until the revised Companion is ready.

The Committee however, consider that paragraph 13 of the Sub-Committee's Report dealing with "Unstarred Questions: continuing the debate after the Government has replied" is of too great importance to be treated as merely a matter of "Observances of the House". They have therefore considered it separately in paragraph 2 above.

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