§ Lord Moynihanasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the forthcoming White Paper on House of Lords reform will fulfil their 2001 manifesto pledge that "we have given our support to the report and conclusions of the Wakeham Commission and will seek to implement them in the most effective way possible", particularly with regard to the role and powers of the Independent Appointments Commission in vetting political appointments. [HL1086]
§ Lord Moynihanasked Her Majesty's Government:
What limitations they consider should be placed on the system of prime ministerial patronage with particular reference to appointments to the House of Lords. [HL1088]
§ The Lord Chancellor (Lord Irvine of Lairg)The Government's proposals for the next stage of House of Lords reform were laid before Parliament as a Command PaperThe House of Lords—Completing the Reform (Cm 5291) on Wednesday 7 November 2001.
Paragraph 65 of Cm 5291 sets out the Government's proposal for the creation of a powerful statutory Appointments Commission to manage the balance and size of the House, so the commission, not the Prime Minister, will decide on the number of political appointments for each party. The commission will assure the integrity of those nominated by the political parties. It will also have complete responsibility for the appointment of the 120 independent members.
The Prime Minister's powers, outside that of party leader, to nominate Members of the House of Lords will be reduced to a residual power to nominate a handful of people in each Parliament to serve as Government Ministers.
§ Lord Moynihanasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether and, if so, how the next phase of House of Lords reform will re-engage the electorate, in view of the fact that 41 per cent of eligible voters did not vote in the 2001 general election. [HL1087]
§ The Lord ChancellorThe Government's proposals for the next stage of House of Lords reform were laid before Parliament as a Command PaperThe House of Lords—Completing the Reform (Cm 5291) on Wednesday 7 November 2001.
The Government's proposals will ensure that political representation is in relation to the proportion of votes cast. They will strengthen the representation of the nations and regions within the UK and tackle the under-representation of women and ethnic minorities. The Government believe that public confidence in and engagement with Parliament will be strengthened by these reforms.
80WA
§ Lord Moynihanasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the primary reasons why they do not support an elected or substantially elected second Chamber of Parliament. [HL1089]
§ The Lord ChancellorThe Government's proposals for the next stage of House of Lords reform were laid before Parliament as a Command Paper (Cm 5291) on Wednesday 7 November 2001.The House of Lords—Completing the Reform outlines the Government's detailed proposals for the composition of the reformed House of Lords, and sets out, in detail, in paragraphs 37 to 41, why the Government support the view of the Royal Commission on House of Lords reform as to the undesirability of a wholly elected second Chamber.
Paragraph 39 of the White Paper includes the critical argument: "A parallel elective basis of authority for two chambers with parallel functions would inevitably create strongly competing authorities in the same spheres … Two wholly directly elected chambers within the Westminster system would be a recipe for gridlock."