PROCEDURE OF THE HOUSE (Hansard, 27 July 1979)

§ Lord ABERDARE
My Lords, I beg to move the second Motion standing in my name on the Order Paper.

§ Lord NORTHFIELD
My Lords, before we pass this Motion I wonder whether the noble Lord the Chairman of Committees would inquire what is happening about the recommendations, now two years old, of the Committee on Practice 2160 and Procedure which was chaired by my noble friend Lord Shepherd. Those recommendations were referred to the Procedure Committee for their advice on exactly how to implement them in terms of technical detail. I have raised this matter at intervals throughout the years since this report was presented to the House, and since the undertakings were given from the Front Benches that a first experiment on the lines of the recommendations of that committee would be instituted. We still seem to be awaiting the report of the Procedure Committee on those recommendations, and it would be very helpful indeed if we could have some indication from the noble Lord as to whether he will find out and will report later on what is actually happening.

§ Lord ABERDARE
My Lords, I am ever mindful of the interest taken in this matter by the noble Lord, Lord Northfield. I even anticipated, when I saw him in the House, that he might ask this very question. May I tell him that certainly the Procedure Committee has not forgotten the report of the Select Committee on Practice and Procedure and in fact, as I think the noble Lord realises, was waiting to see what action was taken in another place in regard to the recommendations of their Select Committee. I took the opportunity at the meeting of the Procedure Committee whose report we are now considering of mentioning, at the end of the meeting, that I thought the time was now ripe for this committee to look once again at the report of our own committee. This we shall do at the next meeting of the Procedure Committee.