§ 3.4 p.m.
Viscount AstorMy Lords, after the debate on the construction industry and before the debate on the Channel Tunnel and British Rail, my noble friend Lady Denton will, with the leave of the House, repeat in the form of a Statement an Answer to a Private Notice Question on the Apex Trust.
With the leave of the House I should like to say a word about this afternoon's two debates standing in the names of the noble Lords, Lord Dean of Beswick, and Lord Clinton-Davis. As the mover is allowed 15 minutes, and as 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 Dean of Beswick, the number of speakers is such that it is not necessary to impose any formal time limit. However, I am sure that noble Lords will agree that it would conform to the spirit of these short debates if they were to keep their speeches within the 15 minutes which applies to the mover of the Motion. In the case of the debate in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Clinton-Davis, it means that all other speeches should be limited to a maximum of eight minutes. If any noble Lord should speak at greater length he would do so at the expense of subsequent speakers in the debate.