House of Lords
Arrangement of Business
The Earl of Courtown (Con)
My Lords, noble Lords should remember that taking the oath does not require signing the Code of Conduct, and it should take 24 seconds each time. So we will get through your Lordships in a timely fashion, I am sure.
I remind noble Lords also that, when passing the Lord Speaker or the Deputy Speaker, they do not need to shake hands, but an acknowledgement will be received by the Lord Speaker. A small number of Deputy Speakers will be on duty on the Woolsack during the course of the afternoon and early evening. Therefore, it would be a courtesy to allow the Deputy Speakers to take their oaths first. After that, noble Lords will queue in the normal way—although Saturday evening’s example is not one I would like to see followed. It would also be a courtesy to the House and to those of our noble friends who have disabilities to let them take the oath in a timely fashion.
The House will adjourn periodically during the course of the afternoon, and it is envisaged that we will rise by 8 pm. Any information relating to adjournments will be on the annunciator. Please will noble Lords play their part with their usual good manners?
Messages of Condolence
The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)
My Lords, I am grateful for that advance notice and now I will have my say.
I should like to inform the House that I have received a great many letters of condolence on the occasion of the death of Her late Majesty the Queen, from our friends and colleagues in other Parliaments and countries across the globe. With the permission of the House, I will respond appropriately on the House’s behalf and also arrange for the original letters to be published on the parliamentary website after the period of mourning. I will respond to any further letters in the same way. We are extremely grateful to our fellow parliamentarians across the world for their thoughts at this time.