Parliamentary Procedure (Hansard, 16 June 1997)

§ The Lord Privy Seal (Lord Richard)
My Lords, the noble Lord makes an interesting proposition on which I have an open mind, though leaning towards the sympathetic. It is, of course, very much a matter for the House itself and therefore I shall be consulting with the usual channels and the Chairman of Committees.

§ Lord Wallace of Saltaire
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that Answer to my Question. Perhaps I may be tempted a little further by his sympathy into asking him to accept that changes which are made in the Commons procedure in terms of pre-legislative scrutiny, organisation of committees and management of legislation necessarily affect what the revising Chamber does, even if we stop before considering joint committees and the like. Therefore, does he consider that, as the other place considers revising its procedures, we may need to do the same?

§ Lord Richard
My Lords, with great respect to the noble Lord, there are better arguments for his proposition. What he has just said is an argument for not doing it until after the House of Commons has reported. That is certainly one side of the argument. The other side is that this House should give consideration to its own procedures at this stage. As I said, I have an open mind on that.

Viscount Cranborne
My Lords, will the noble Lord accept from me that this side of the House has great faith 1068 in his judgment in these matters and will look with confidence to the guidance that he gives to the House in considering what will be a difficult matter of judgment? Nevertheless, will he recognise, when he comes to give guidance to the House in these matters, which are particularly fashionable at the moment and understandably so, that this House is not a clone of the other place? As he said in his Answer to the noble Lord, there is a great deal to be said for this House not falling into the seductive trap, very often indulged in—dare I say?—by Members of your Lordships' House who have had experience of another place, of believing that the practices of another place are necessarily better than those of your Lordships' House. If the noble Lord. Lord Wallace, has thoughts on this matter, will the noble Lord the Lord Privy Seal consider asking him to submit a paper for the consideration of the Procedure Committee?

§ Lord Richard
My Lords, I personally am touched by the noble Viscount's faith in my judgment. Any guidance that I give to the House will be well considered. Frankly, I do not want to go any further this afternoon than what I said to the noble Lord, Lord Wallace. It seems to me that this is a matter which the House might wish to consider. But it is a matter for the House to decide whether it wants to consider it. As regards the noble Viscount's observations about the difference between this House and the other place, as he and I know, having served in both Houses, the answer to what he asked is yes.

§ Lord Dean of Beswick
My Lords, does the noble Lord agree that a matter of this kind should be referred to the Procedure Committee of your Lordships' House? Bearing that in mind, does the noble Lord the Leader of the House agree that any changes that do come through shall not be at the expense of the freedom of individual Members of your Lordships' House to challenge the Executive and the Government, whenever they feel it appropriate, on the Floor of this Chamber?

§ Lord Richard
My Lords, of course, it is a matter for the committees of your Lordships' House to decide which way this House wishes to go. The noble Lord, Lord Wallace, might indeed think hard about the suggestion made by the noble Viscount the Leader of the Opposition as to whether he should put a paper before the Procedure Committee. So far as concerns the rest of my noble friend's question, yes, I entirely agree with what he said.

§ Lord Beloff
My Lords, does the noble Lord the Leader of the House agree that most of our important procedures are carried out in this Chamber? Does he further agree that an important part of those procedures is that we should feel comfortable? Would he suggest that comfort to the Opposition Benches could be assured if the noble Lord, Lord Wallace, and his friends would cross to the other Benches in conformity with their oft expressed admiration of the new Government?

§ Lord Richard
My Lords, I feel extremely comfortable with the existing arrangements in the House, infinitely more comfortable than I felt three 1069 months ago. The place where the Liberal Party sits is very much a matter for the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Party to work out for themselves

§ Baroness David
My Lords, can my noble friend say, if a committee is set up, whether it will look at the procedure for the introduction of Peers? Cannot there be a reduction in the ceremony that goes on?

§ Lord Richard
My Lords, I have considerable sympathy with what my noble friend says. Again, it is a matter for the House. Whether or not at some stage I will feel moved to offer the House the firm and well thought out guidance to which the Leader of the Opposition referred a moment ago in relation to the introduction ceremony remains to be seen.

§ Lord Campbell of Alloway
My Lords, is the noble Lord the Leader of the House aware that there is anything radically wrong with the existing arrangements? They have gone on and changed from time to time to meet circumstances.

§ Lord Richard
My Lords, the noble Lord tempts me. At this stage all I will say is that it is a matter for the House. Though I have a sympathetic view in relation to this request, it will have to go through the normal committees in the normal way.