House of Lords: Remote Participation and Hybrid Sittings

Lord Bhatia Excerpts

Thursday 20th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bhatia (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, on 16 November the Leader of the House of Commons announced in response to an Urgent Question that the Government

“should seek to do more to support additional virtual participation in the Commons Chamber.”

He said that the Government

“should work with the House authorities to find a solution”—[Official Report, Commons, 16/11/20; col. 24.]

to the issues. He announced that he planned to bring a Motion before the House to facilitate additional virtual participation. According to the Procedure Committee:

“Virtual participation in House proceedings, as a means to facilitate participation despite the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, was first authorised by the House on 21 April this year, when it passed a resolution providing for parity of treatment between physical and virtual participation and made a temporary order applying these ‘hybrid’ arrangements to scrutiny proceedings (oral questions, urgent questions and Ministerial statements). The following day the House made a further temporary order applying the arrangements to proceedings on motions and legislation.”


While these resolutions were being made in the Commons, the House of Lords also resolved to be the same, and it has to be used until mid-2021. Having listened to the previous speakers, I have to say that virtual debate and voting should continue to enable those Peers who have physical disabilities to continue to speak and work online.