§ Lord HeskethMy Lords, after the short debate on the National Health Service and before the short debate on the public library system, my noble friend Lord Howe will, with the leave of the House, repeat a Statement that is to be made in another place on defence equipment.
I should like to say a word about this afternoon's debates standing in the names of the noble Lords, Lord Hunter of Newington and Lord Willis. As the mover is allowed 15 minutes and the Minister should rise to reply not less than 20 minutes before the scheduled end of the debate, in the case of the debate in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Hunter of Newington, it means that all other speeches should be limited to a maximum of nine minutes. If any noble Lord should speak at greater length he would do so at the expense of subsequent speakers in the debate. In the case of the debate in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Willis, 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 agree that it would conform to the spirit of these short debates if they would keep their speeches within the 15 minutes which apply to the mover of the Motion.