HL Deb 13 December 1972 vol 337 cc607-12

2.48 p.m.

THE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES (THE EARL OF LISTOWEL) rose to move that the First Report from the Select Committee be agreed to.

The Committee's Report was as follows:

1. APPOINTMENT OF SUB-COMMITTEES

(a) Administration. The Administration Committee was appointed as follows:

with the Clerk of the Parliaments.

With power to co-opt further Lords.

(b) Library. The Sub-Committee on the Library was appointed as follows:

with the Clerk of the Parliaments.

With power to co-opt further Lords and to appoint its own Chairman.

(c) Refreshment Department. The Sub-Committee on the Refreshment Department was appointed as follows:

with the Clerk of the Parliaments.

With power to co-opt further Lords and to appoint its own Chairman.

(d) House of Lords Estimates (Finance). The Sub-Committee on the Estimates (Finance) was appointed as follows:

with the Clerk of the Parliaments.

With power to co-opt further Lords.

(e) Works of Art. The Sub-Committee on Works of Art was appointed as follows:

with the Clerk of the Parliaments.

With power to co-opt further Lords and to appoint its own Chairman.

2. ACCOMMODATION

The Committee considered a scheme to provide further accommodation for the House of Lords by "infilling" building to be accomplished by building over existing structures without encroaching on the Courtyards or altering the external appearance of the Palace of Westminster.

The Committee recommend that the Department of the Environment should be asked to proceed with the scheme as soon as possible, and that the Administration Committee should consider and report on the allocation of accommodation in the space which will become available when the scheme is completed.

3. ESTIMATES

The Estimate for the House of Lords for 1973–74 was laid before the Committee and approved.

4. SUPERANNUATION

The Committee sanctioned the payment of a pension and lump sum under the 1972 Pension Scheme to Mr. Charles Ernest Babb, Door-keeper, who retired on grounds of ill-health on the 26th October, 1972.

5. PARLIAMENT OFFICE

The Committee authorised an additional part-time post of Judicial Taxing Clerk, attached to the Judicial Office.

6. NEWS SERVICE

The Committee authorised payment of the House of Lords' share of an increase in the annual rental for the teleprinter news service, subject to the Prices and Wages Standstill.

7. SELECT COMMITTEES

The Committee sanctioned a special payment in respect of expenses to a specialist witness from Washington D.C. for attendance before the Select Committee on the Anti-Discrimination Bill.

8. POWERS OF BLACK ROD

1. The Committee have reviewed the authority under which Black Rod acts as Keeper of the Doors and controls access to the House, and have also reviewed the powers which he exercises on behalf of the House to ensure security and good order in the precincts of the House especially amongst strangers admitted to the Chamber or to a Committee room of the House. They consider that the powers exercised are in need of clarification and redefinition.

2. There are at present two Standing Orders of the House relating to these duties. These are as follows:—

Standing Order 11

"11. The admission of strangers to the Chamber shall be subject to such orders as the House may make for that purpose, and the Lord Great Chamberlain shall be desired to give effect to such orders."

Standing Order 13

"13. When the House is not sitting, respect is to be had to the Chamber, and the Lord Great Chamberlain shall be desired to give instructions accordingly."

Both these Standing Orders are out of date in their reference to the Lord Great Chamberlain and in other respects do not adequately express or convey the authority which Black Rod needs to carry out his duties.

3. Having reviewed the problem both in its historical and its present context, the Committee have reached the following conclusions:—

  1. (i) The House should retain without modification its power of attachment for contempt. It is over a century since this power has been exercised, but it needs to be kept in reserve.
  2. (ii) Anyone who commits (or is suspected of committing) a criminal offence within the precincts of the House should be taken into custody by Black Rod and handed over to the police for such further action as they see fit to take in accordance with the criminal law.
  3. (iii) In cases of contempt such as a disturbance of the proceedings of the House, or of a Committee of the House, Black Rod should have power to detain an offender for long enough to enable him to investigate the nature and cause of the offence and any related offence that may be threatened.
  4. (iv) Black Rod should have power in his discretion to detain an offender under (iii) above until three hours after the rising of the House; or, if the House is not sitting, for three hours.
  5. (v) Punishment for contempt should be reserved to the House itself.
  6. (vi) Black Rod's responsibility for security in, and control of access to, the precincts 610 of the House, including his responsibility for the parking of vehicles, should be explicitly recognised by the House.
  7. (vii) In addition to a power of temporary detention Black Rod should have authority to confiscate a film from a camera, a tape from a tape recorder (but not the camera or the tape recorder itself) and any bugging device, which had been improperly used in the precincts of the House.
  8. (viii) References to Black Rod should be understood to include references to the Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod.

4. Accordingly the Committee recommend to the House:—

  1. (a) a new Standing Order of general authority to take the place of Standing Orders 11 and 13.
  2. (b) a set of detailed rules, covering Black Rod's responsibilities in respect of—
    1. (i) security and control of access to the precincts of the House;
    2. (ii) order in the galleries of the House;
    3. (iii) the limits of Black Rod's authority to deal with contempts on behalf of the House;
    4. (iv) the parking of vehicles.

These rules, if approved by the House, will become orders of the House and will remain in operation unless and until the House decides to cancel or amend them.

5. Drafts of the new Standing Order and of the Rules are attached below as an Appendix to this Report.

  1. APPENDIX
      2. c610
    1. DRAFT NEW STANDING ORDER 11 138 words
      2. cc610-2
    2. DRAFT RULES 654 words
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