§ 3.9 p.m.
§ Lord HeskethMy Lords, after the short debate on small business and before the short debate on the work of voluntary agencies, my noble friend Lord 182 Arran will, with the leave of the House, repeat a Statement that is to be made in another place on Northern Ireland—Political Talks.
With the leave of the House, I should like to say a word about the two debates standing in the names of my noble friends Lord Caldecote and Lord Elton. 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 short debate in the name of my noble friend, Lord Caldecote, this means that all other speeches should be limited to a maximum of eight minutes and in that of my noble friend Lord Elton seven minutes. If any noble Lord were to speak at greater length, he would be doing so at the expense of subsequent speakers in that debate.
It may be worth reminding noble Lords that the digital timing devices record historical fact rather than the present. Thus when they indicate eight, the ninth minute has started.