§ 3.32 p.m.
§ Lord DiamondMy Lords, perhaps this is an appropriate time for me to seek your Lordships' indulgence to ask the Leader of the House whether he has it in mind to seek the guidance of the Procedure Committee on any necessary clarification of our normal procedures with regard to personal statements and whether he is of the view that such clarification might be necessary?
§ The Lord Privy Seal (Lord Belstead)My Lords, the guidance in the Companion to Standing Orders on personal statements in your Lordships' House to any Lord wanting to make such a statement is perfectly clear. However, in response to the noble Lord, Lord Diamond, it occurs to me that possibly the informal body which consists of the Leaders and Whips of the parties in your Lordships' House, together with the noble Baroness the Convenor of the Cross-Bench Peers, might get together to decide whether they feel that there is any point in the guidance which should be brought to the attention of the Procedure Committee.
§ Lord Cledwyn of PenrhosMy Lords, is the noble Lord aware that I fully agree with his suggestion that this should be referred to the informal committee of Leaders and Whips and not to the Procedure Committee? It is of course impossible to control a noble Lord or to anticipate personal statements when they exceed the bounds of propriety.