Lord Ashton of Hyde (Con)
My Lords, I have another short statement to make this morning, about recess dates. A note of all the dates I am about to announce is available in the Printed Paper Office. For the record, the following dates are, of course, subject to the eternal Chief Whip’s caveat that they are dependent on the progress of business—and I expect the House to be busy this year.
We will rise at the conclusion of business on Thursday 13 February and return on Monday 24 February. For Easter, we will rise at the conclusion of business on Wednesday 1 April and return on Tuesday 21 April. There will be a long weekend for the Victory in Europe Day anniversary when, unusually, the bank holiday is on Friday rather than Monday; we will rise at the conclusion of business on Wednesday 6 May and return on Monday 11 May. For Whitsun, we will rise at the conclusion of business on Thursday 21 May and return on Tuesday 2 June. We will then rise at the end of business on Tuesday 21 July for the Summer Recess and return on Tuesday 8 September. For the Conference Recess, we will rise at the conclusion of business on Thursday 17 September and return on Tuesday 13 October. I hope that giving as much notice as possible of the expected sitting pattern for the majority of 2020 will assist all noble Lords.