Lord Ashton of Hyde (Con)
My Lords, I thought it might be helpful to the House if I made a short statement about the arrangement of business today. First, on the Fire Safety Bill, noble Lords will know that the House returned the Bill to the Commons again last night. We fully expect it to send the Bill back to us today for further consideration. If it does, we will consider that message tonight after the proceedings on the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill, as outlined in today’s list.
The Bill is unlikely to arrive back before 2 pm and the window for noble Lords to table Motions or amendments is expected to be open between 3 pm and 4 pm. I urge those noble Lords with an interest in the Bill to keep an eye on the annunciator for any updates and to consult the Legislation Office at the earliest opportunity should they need further information.
Secondly, on the National Security and Investment Bill, we are due to consider a Commons Reason at a convenient point after 1.30 pm. If, after that debate, there is still no agreement on the one remaining issue, the Bill will return to the Commons and it will consider it again today. If the Bill is then returned to us, we will consider that message tonight. I will need to keep the House updated on timings, but any further debate on the Bill in this House will not start before 9 pm.