§ Lord Mason of Barnsleyasked the Leader of the House:
Whether he will bring forward proposals to make provision in the House of Lords for a public register of Peers' financial and vested interests.
§ The Lord Privy Seal (Lord Belstead)No. It is a long-standing custom of the House that Lords speak always on their personal honour. It follows from this that if a Lord decides it is proper to take part in a debate on a subject in which he or she has a pecuniary interest, the latter should then be declared. Any proposed change would be a matter for the Procedure Committee to consider; they last did so in 1974, when it was decided to take no action.