§ The Lord Chancellor (Lord Irvine of Lairg): My Lords, before business begins, I take the opportunity to inform the House that I am to attend the opening of the new European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg on Tuesday 3rd November and will address a meeting of the American College of Trial Lawyers in Rome on Wednesday 4th November, when the House will sit. Accordingly, I trust that the House will grant me leave of absence.