§ Lord Denhamasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many times in the first two Sessions of this Parliament they were defeated in Divisions in the House of Lords on amendments at various stages of Bills; and on how many of these occasions have the outcomes (a) been accepted in principle in another place (b) reversed outright; or (c) resolved by the substitution of compromise amendments. [HL962]
§ Lord CarterIn 1997–98, there were 36 government defeats in the House of Lords. In 1998–99 there were 29 such defeats. In the cases where another place proposed an amendment in lieu, it is a matter of interpretation as to whether that amendment constituted acceptance in principle or whether it represented a compromise, and it is therefore not possible to distinguish absolutely between categories (a) and (c) in the noble Lord's question. However, it is possible to give the following figures in relation to government defeats in the House of Lords.
1997–98 Defeats wholly accepted by another place 0 Defeats reversed by another place 24 Defeats resolved by amendments in lieu 8 In addition, three amendments in lieu were proposed by another place on the European Parliamentary Elections Bill. These were all rejected by the Lords, and the Bill was eventually lost.
1998–99 Defeats wholly accepted by another place 1 (Employment Relations Bill Committee stage, Amendment No. 276) Defeats reversed by another place 22 Defeats resolved by amendments in lieu 3 In addition there were two defeats on the House of Lords Bill (hostile Motion on Second Reading and a Motion to resume the House) which were not referred back to another place. There was also a defeat on Second Reading of the European Parliamentary Elections Bill, which was not referred back to another place as it caused the Bill to be enacted under the Parliament Acts.