§ 3.7 p.m.
§ Viscount DavidsonMy Lords, after the end of the short debate on the high level of consumer debt and before the short debate on assistance available to people with mental illness or mental handicap, my noble friend Lord Strathclyde will, with the leave of the House, repeat a Statement that is to be made in another place on British Shipbuilders,
With the leave of the House, I should like, as usual, to say a word about the two short debates standing in the names of the noble Baroness, Lady Ewart-Biggs, and the noble Lord, Lord Carter. It is customary in short debates that the mover is allowed approximately 15 minutes, and that the Minister should rise to reply not less than 20 minutes before the scheduled end of the debates. In the case of the short debate in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Ewart-Biggs, this means that all other speeches should be limited to a maximum of nine minutes and in that of the noble Lord, Lord Carter, to 11 minutes. If any noble Lord should speak at greater length, it would be at the expense of subsequent speakers in the debate.