HL Deb 13 December 1989 vol 513 c1302

3.4 p.m.

Lord Denham

My 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 Parry, and the noble Earl, Lord Perth. On the principle 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 debate, in the case of the noble Lord's debate the number of speakers is such that it is not necessary to propose a formal time limit, but I am sure that noble Lords will ensure that their speeches conform to a length in the spirit of these short debates. In that of the noble Earl, it means that all other speeches should be limited to a maximum of nine minutes.