Liaison
Debate between Lord Hamilton of Epsom and Lord Butler of Brockwell
Lord Butler of Brockwell (CB)
My Lords, I make it clear that I make no criticism of the procedures of the Liaison Committee, which were perfectly fair, although I agree with the noble Lords, Lord McNally and Lord Forsyth, that there is an issue for Parliament here. The proposal that there were issues of such importance affecting the Civil Service that they required investigation had the support of not only the Public Administration Select Committee in another place but all the chairmen of the Select Committees that examine departments. It was a unanimous proposal from the Liaison Committee in another place. These are issues of importance, which may well be in the manifestos for the next general election. As I said in my remarks on 16 January, it would be extraordinary if Parliament did not examine them when there is such senior support for that in the House. While I absolutely understand the procedures that were followed by the Liaison Committee and have never sought to overturn either its recommendations or the list of subjects that it has proposed, I hope, as other speakers have, that if the House of Commons goes ahead with setting up an examination of these issues, the Liaison Committee of this House will be flexible enough to agree that this House should join in that investigation.
Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)
My Lords, I must confess that I did not realise that my noble friend Lord McNally had put down this amendment. If I had, I would have put my name to it. There is something seriously wrong with our Civil Service today and there is no better place than your Lordships’ House to give consideration to how it should be reformed.