§ Lord DenhamMy Lords, at a convenient moment after 3.30 this afternoon my noble friend Lord Bellwin, with the leave of the House, will repeat a Statement that is to be made in another place on the rate support grant in England.
With the leave of the House, I should like in the normal way to say a brief word about the timing of the two short debates this afternoon standing in the names of my noble friend Lord Nugent of Guildford and the noble Lord, Lord Allen of Abbeydale.
Following the principle that the mover shall be entitled to approximately 15 minutes and that the Minister should rise to reply not later than 20 minutes before the scheduled end of the debate, may I suggest that other speakers in today's first debate in the name of my noble friend Lord Nugent should limit their speeches to a maximum of eight minutes. If any noble Lord who should be skilled in instant mathematics would question my figures, I must say that the name of my noble friend Lord Beloff, who asked for his name to be included, was left off the list. It is an omission for which I apologise to my noble friend and to the House. With regard to the debate in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Allen of Abbeydale, the limit is as high as 15 minutes.
Perhaps I should point out that if any noble Lord in either of these debates should speak at greater length than the scheduled time, he will do so at the expense of later speakers in that particular debate.