§ 2.40 p.m.
§ Lord DRUMALBYNMy 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 it is intended that the broadcasting of proceedings in this House is to begin, and what further preparatory steps have to be taken in the meantime.
The LORD PRIVY SEAL (Lord Pearl)My Lords, the preparatory steps which have to be taken before regular sound broadcasting of Parliamentary proceedings can begin are that the work on the temporary accommodation for the broadcasters in No. 1 Bridge Street has to be completed, and a decision has still to be taken on the appropriate form of Parliamentary oversight of these broadcasts. Work on No. 1 Bridge Street is progressing according to plan and, subject to Parliamentary agreement, I would hope that regular broadcasts could begin immediately after the Easter Recess.
§ Lord DRUMALBYNMy Lords, while thanking the noble Lord the Leader of the House for that Answer, may I ask whether he is aware that this Question was put down a good time ago and before the relevant debate in the other place? May I ask him also whether it would be possible to start broadcasting from this House even if for reasons—possibly of shortage of time—it is not possible to get agreement in another place on the exact form of the oversight there?
§ Lord PEARTMy Lords, I cannot accept that. I know that the Motion was talked out in another place, but I am fairly certain that they will deal with this issue effectively. I think the plan on which we have agreement will go through.
Lord CAMPBELL of CROYMy Lords, may I pursue that point? I took part in the debate upon the construction of the booth in the Press Gallery and the experiment which followed. Will the noble Lord make it clear that, whatever happens in another place, and if they revise what happened the other day, the decision in this House will be a separate one, and that when he said that Parliamentary approval is required, he did not mean the approval of both Houses?
§ Lord PEARTMy Lords, we ought to act jointly on this. There was the desire to set up a Joint Committee. I do not think that we should start to quibble about matters in another place which, I think, will be resolved sensibly. So long as we fulfill the programme, that is what we want.
§ Lord ORR-EWINGMy Lords, will the noble Lord bear in mind that this House has always taken a rather more progressive and far-sighted view about broadcasting than another place? Whereas it would be desirable that we should wait, must we always wait for the slow coaches in another place when we have an opportunity to start broadcasting our proceedings to people all over the country?
§ Lord PEARTMy Lords, I must admit that I was always called a reactionary on this issue. Since I have been here for a short period, I am prepared to accept that we need to broadcast proceedings from this House. Of course I believe that the broadcasting of this House will show to the British people that this House has an important place in our Constitution.
Baroness WARD of NORTH TYNESIDEMy Lords, will the noble Lord bear in mind that the longer the delay is, the better pleased I shall be, because I do not want it done at all?
§ Lord PEARTMy Lords, may I say to my reactionary noble friend from the area I once represented, the North East, that this matter has to go through.
§ Lord DRUMALBYNMy Lords, would the noble Lord be so kind as to confirm that it is the Government's firm intention to reintroduce the Motion that was talked out the other day in another place in time for broadcasting to start when it was supposed to start, immediately after Easter?
§ Lord PEARTMy Lords, I think they will act. I am certain that there will be agreement on this.
§ Lord MAELORMy Lords, will the Minister agree that this preparation is a waste of good money in view of the fact that the Labour Party Conference decided to abolish the House of Lords?
§ Lord PEARTMy Lords, that is another question.
§ Lord PANNELLMy Lords, does the noble Lord think that the broadcasting of our proceedings will help to abolish this place?
§ Lord PEARTNo, my Lords. The debates in this Chamber—and my noble friend is an asset to this Chamber—are of a different kind. We are going to have an energy debate later and we shall have contributions from distinguished experts who are Members of this Chamber. I think this will be to everyone's advantage.