§ 3.44 p.m.
§ THE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES (THE EARL OF LISTOWEL)My Lords, I beg to move that the Fourth Report from the Select Committee on House of Lords Offices be now considered.
§ Moved, That the Fourth Report from the Select Committee on House of Lords Offices be now considered.—(The Earl of Listowel.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.
§ The Committee's Report was as follows:
§ 1. THE ROYAL GALLERY
§ The Committee have further considered the proposal that increased use should be made of the Royal Gallery. They recommend that for a trial period with the concurrence of the Lord Great Chamberlain suitable armchairs, sofas and tables should be set out in the Royal Gallery; the type of furniture and its arrangement to be considered by the Committee on Works of Art.
§ 2. CONTROL OF MASS LOBBIES
§ The Committee have considered and approved a recommendation from the Administration Committee that in order to control lobbyists waiting to enter St. Stephen's Entrance, a barrier of removable railings should be installed across Old Palace Yard from St. Stephen's Entrance to the Victoria Tower. Outside these railings and marking the Western limits of the car park, a line of permanent stone bollards will be set up. The Scheme has 417 the approval of the Westminster City Council and the Fine Art Commission.
§ 3. THE MOSES ROOM
§ The Committee recommended that air conditioning should be installed in the Moses Room.
§ 4. TIMING OF SPEECHES
§ The Committee recommend the permanent installation in the Chamber of the time indicators now displayed to enable the duration of speeches to be timed in accordance with the recommendation of the Procedure Committee.
§ 5. LANGUAGE TRAINING FOR PEERS
§ The Committee were informed and took note with approval that a scheme will be forthcoming to provide language courses in Common Market languages for Members of both Houses.
§ 6. SUB-COMMITTEE ON WORKS OF ART
§ The Chairman of the Sub-Committee reported to the Committee that a portrait of H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh by Major Davidson-Houston commissioned by the Lord Great Chamberlain will be hung in the Royal Gallery with that of Her Majesty the Queen. The Committee noted that this will involve some rearrangement of existing pictures.
§ 7. PARLIAMENT OFFICE AND LIBRARY
§ The Committee were informed of the retirement on the 1st June of Miss J. P. Culverwell, M.B.E., Examiner of Private Acts, after 33 years in the Parliament Office, and asked the Clerk of the Parliaments to convey to her their appreciation of her long and valuable service to the House.
§ The Committee were informed of the rearrangement of duties in the office of the Examiner of Acts and authorised appropriate rates of pay.
§ The Committee also authorised the appointment of an additional Senior Office Assistant in the Judicial Office, an additional Office Assistant in the Library, and an adjustment of the Salaries paid to certain of the staff in the Accountant's Office.
§ 8. OFFICIAL SHORTHAND WRITER
§ The Committee approved an increase in the Official Shorthand Writer's annual fee for Judgments with effect from 1st November, 1971.
§ 9. DEPARTMENT OF THE GENTLEMAN USHER OF THE BLACK ROD
§ The Committee were informed of the forthcoming retirement of Lieutenant-Commander S. E. Glover, O.B.E., D.S.C, after 21 years as Staff Superintendent and asked the Chairman of Committees to convey to him their appreciation of his long and valuable service to the House.
§ (a) The Committee were informed of the appointment of Major Donald McNab Whyte, M.B.E., as Staff Superintendent from 1st June, 1972.
§ The Committee authorised the payment of the salary of the post additionally to Lt.-Cdr. S. E. Glover, O.B.E., D.S.C, until his retirement on 31st August, 1972
418§ (b) The Committee also authorised the appointment of an additional Clerical Officer, an additional Attendant and three additional Housemaids on the staff of the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod
§ 10. HANSARD REPORTING STAFF
- (a) The Committee authorised the employment of:
- (i) up to five temporary Reporters;
- (ii) teams of seven additional relief Transcribers from Palantype Organisation;
- (iii) Recording Operator supplied by Tannoy Products Limited, at the discretion of the Clerk of the Parliaments for the reporting of Debates.
- (b) The Committee also authorised the payment of an increase in the charges for transcribers supplied by Palantype Organisation with effect from 1st November, 1971.
- (c) The Committee were informed of provisional arrangements for the temporary secondment of verbatim Reporters from the Northern Ireland Parliamentary Reporting Staff and authorised the payment of the cost of travelling, subsistence allowances and attendance fees.
§ 11. MEAL ALLOWANCES
§ The Committee approved an increase in the rate of meal allowances payable to certain officials working late in the evening after a normal day's duty.
§ THE EARL OF LISTOWELMy Lords, I beg to move that this Report be agreed to.
§ Moved, That the Report be agreed to.—(The Earl of Listowel.)
§ LORD SHACKLETONMy Lords, I think noble Lords will have noticed that in this Report there is a tribute from the Offices Committee to Commander Glover on his forthcoming retirement after 21 years as Staff Superintendent. Those of your Lordships who, like the noble Earl the Leader of the House and my noble friend Lord Beswick, and no doubt the noble Lord, Lord Denham, and other noble Lords, have been concerned with the housekeeping and the administration and security of this House will know that Commander Glover has given quite outstandingly devoted service. I doubt whether we could find another man, either in this House or indeed in this country, who so signally demonstrates his feeling of loyalty, a somewhat old-fashioned but rather fine loyalty, of service to the Crown and of duty to your Lordships. The fact that he has had, I do not doubt, great satisfaction in this work does not in any way detract from the quite exceptional quality of the work. He is always on the 419 job. I feel that this might be an opportunity, because I am sure the noble Earl agrees with me, for some of us in this House to put on record how much we owe to Commander Glover, and to wish him a happy retirement.
THE LORD PRIVY SEAL (EARL JELLICOE)My Lords, may I say that I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiments expressed by the noble Lord the Leader of the Opposition. Commander Glover's example is an astonishing one of service, generally and to this country: 30 years in the Navy, coming (if I may say so with a certain amount of salt water in my veins) as he did from a naval family; and his father, incidentally, happened to be the greatest exponent of the hornpipe the Navy have ever seen. Thirty years' service in the Navy followed by no less than 22 years' service to your Lordships' House—52 years in all—is a very remarkable record, and the responsibilities which Commander Glover has discharged in his dual appointment as Staff Superintendent and Superintendent of Custodians have been extremely onerous, and he has made them no less onerous. I believe that a great deal of the extraordinary courtesy with which we meet as we go round this House, and also the efficiency with which its housekeeping is run, is in itself a tribute to Commander Glover's service. I should like to echo what the noble Lord has said in wishing Commander Glover a very well-earned retirement, and assuring him that he will always be a very welcome guest in this House, in which we know him so well and to which he has made so long a contribution.
§ LORD BYERSMy Lords, my colleagues and I would endorse in full measure what has been said by the noble Earl the Leader of the House, and practically everything said by the noble Lord the Leader of the Opposition. We are very fortunate in the servants we have in this House, but at no time could any one of them, particularly Commander Glover, be accused of an old-fashioned type of loyalty. His loyalty is 100 per cent., and we wish him well in his retirement.
§ LORD SHACKLETONMy Lords, I regard old-fashioned loyalty as the finest loyalty.
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.