HL Deb 20 January 1971 vol 314 c483
LORD ILFORD

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

[The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to reeive the Report of the Royal Commission on the Constitution.]

THE MINISTER OF STATE, HOME OFFICE (LORD WINDLESHAM)

My Lords, it is not yet possible to say when the Commission's work will be completed.

LORD ILFORD

My Lords, thanking my noble friend for that Answer, may I ask him whether, in view of the fact that the Commission has now been at work for nearly two years, and the importance of the matters said to rest on its decision, he will use what efforts he can to expedite the Report?

LORD WINDLESHAM

My Lords, this is a far-reaching inquiry of very wide implications, as the noble Lord said. The Commission was set up in April, 1969, and held its first meeting in the same month. It has since received written evidence from a large number of organisations and individuals, and has heard oral evidence in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

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