Parliamentary Privilege

Baroness Falkner of Margravine Excerpts

Tuesday 11th December 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Cormack]

My Lords, in attempting to lower the temperature slightly, can my noble friend the Chairman tell us whether any member of this committee from either House sat on the previous important Joint Committee on Parliamentary Privilege? It would clearly be an advantage if there were somebody who had experience of that committee. As one of those people was the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor, she would provide a wonderful answer to both questions.

[Baroness Falkner of Margravine]

My Lords, without referring to any of the people who have been proposed for this committee, the noble Lord mentioned that it was down to the usual channels. Can he assure the House that when a quarter of the membership of this House does not get to have a say in these important matters, that when he gets this kind of referral in future he will go back to the usual channels and propose to them that they need to incorporate perspectives from all sides of the House?

[Lord Tyler]

My Lords, I endorse the views of my noble friend Lord Cormack. I, too, served on that committee and I warmly endorse the suggestion that the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor, should be nominated to this committee. From memory, she and I sat through many sessions when we worked very hard on this issue. Parliament as a whole does not do itself any justice when it seems to go back and reinvent the wheel every so often instead of taking advantage of the work that both Houses have done in the past.