Business of the House (Hansard, 22 May 1997)

§ Lord Carter
My Lords, on behalf of my noble friend the Lord Privy Seal I beg to move the first Motion standing in his name on the Order Paper.
Under Standing Order 70(1)(a), no Motion to approve an affirmative instrument may be moved in your Lordships' House unless a report on the instrument by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments has been laid before the House. The joint committee has not yet been appointed so it has been agreed through the usual channels that the standing order should be dispensed with today to allow your Lordships to consider this important Northern Ireland instrument.
Moved, That Standing Order 70 be dispensed with to enable the Motion to approve the draft Northern Ireland (Entry to Negotiations, etc.) Act 1996 (Revival of Section 3) Order 1997 to be taken this day notwithstanding that no report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments on the draft order has been laid before the House.—(Lord Carter.)

§ Lord Strathclyde
My Lords, this is the first opportunity that I have had publicly to congratulate the noble Lord the Government Chief Whip on his appointment. From this side of the House, we would like to wish him the very best of success. The noble Lord will find that this House is a surprising one, especially when it chooses to disagree with what I am sure the noble Lord would regard as the finest of government policy. As I so recently filled the post of Government Chief Whip, I know to my own cost that that happens from time to time.
As regards the Motion, as it is so early in this parliamentary Session and we are still at that stage of good will and co-operation, I should like to say that we are happy to agree with the Motion. We do not wish that to be seen as a precedent; but it should be seen in the spirit of good will. If in the future it turns out that we are obliged to disagree more often than we agree, I hope that the noble Lord and the Government will look back at this period with some joy in their hearts.

§ Lord Skelmersdale
My Lords, both noble Lords who have just spoken are absolutely right; this is most certainly an unusual Motion. However, I find it unusual for a different reason than that which has so far been stated. It is the last two lines of the Motion to which I would like to draw your Lordships' attention. Reference to the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments is normally made during the 503 Minister's opening speech on the order and not in a Motion. Being an oddball myself, I am very pleased to see it where it is today. The joint committee of seven of your Lordships and seven MPs on which I was honoured to serve during the last Parliament, but which is so popular that I would not be surprised to be elbowed off in this Parliament, is a technical but very important part of our legislative process, dealing as it does with the nuts and bolts of Acts of Parliament—some 3,000 of them a year, only a minuscule number of which get to be debated on the Floor of either House.
As the noble Lord the Chief Whip said, the new committee has yet to be appointed so obviously it could not investigate this order for vires or for any other reason as regards its remit. However, I understand that Sir James Nursaw, the committee's legal adviser on affirmative instruments, has reviewed it and found nothing on which he would have liked to advise the committee had it been sitting.
I hope that the very reference to the committee in the Motion of the noble Lord the Lord Privy Seal means that the Government will take the committee's work seriously and not regard it as a thundering nuisance as governments have occasionally, and most certainly some Ministers have done, in the past. Indeed, I further hope that the last two lines of the Motion presage good relations between the Government and the committee.

§ Lord Harris of Greenwich
My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Carter, has explained the circumstances which have required the Government to table the Motion. I believe that the case he made is overwhelming. We certainly support it.

§ Lord Carter
My Lords, I am extremely grateful to noble Lords for the way that they have received the Motion. I should like to thank the Opposition Chief Whip for his kind words. I am not sure why the good will and co-operation has to be concerned only with the early days of this Session. I certainly intend to see that that continues right through the Session. I should also like to take this opportunity to thank all noble Lords who congratulated me and wished me well. I am a little concerned about the number of noble Lords opposite who have said they are delighted that I am the Chief Whip. However, I am extremely grateful for all the good wishes that I have received and for the way in which this Motion has been agreed to. As regards the question of the noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, on the appointment of the JCSI, discussions are proceeding through the usual channels as a matter of priority.