§ 3.8 p.m.
§ Lord DenhamMy Lords, I should like to say a word about the arrangements for this afternoon's two short debates standing in the names of the noble Lord, Lord Donaldson of Kingsbridge, and my noble friend Lord Campbell of Croy. On the principle that the mover is 669 allowed approximately 15 minutes and that the Minister should rise to reply not less than 20 minutes before the scheduled end of the debate, in the case of the short debate in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Donaldson, the number of speakers is such that it is not necessary to propose such formal time limit, but I am sure that noble Lords will agree that it would conform with the spirit of these short debates if they would keep their speeches within the 15 minutes which apply to the mover of the Motion. In the case of the short debate in the name of my noble friend Lord Campbell of Croy, all other speeches should be limited to a maximum of 12 minutes and any noble Lord who spoke at greater length would do so at the expense of subsequent speakers in the debate.