Standing Orders (Public Business)

Baroness Smith of Basildon Excerpts

Tuesday 24th July 2018 Lords Chamber

[The Senior Deputy Speaker]

The Government have already laid a number of negative instruments.

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister and the Senior Deputy Speaker on this. He will recall that, when this was discussed in the Procedure Committee, assurances were sought and received. Will he discuss one point with the Government? One of the issues we raised was that, when instruments are laid during recess, they should be easily accessible to all noble Lords and to the public. I was given that assurance by the Chief Whip, which was helpful. We agree with this and it is important that, if they are laid during recess, we have that additional time to scrutinise them before the sitting days. It has become evident that, rather than all of them being available on the website for the Department for Exiting the European Union as we anticipated, they are being published on different department websites. Could he ask if they could also be published on the central website of the Department for Exiting the European Union, so there is no confusion for anybody and everyone can access them by looking at one website and not every different department’s?

[The Senior Deputy Speaker]

I anticipated the answer to the question, but the noble Baroness is ahead of me on that issue. It will be published by the departments on their websites. She makes a good suggestion about it being on the central website. I have already heard whispers that the Government will look at that issue.

[The Senior Deputy Speaker]

The noble Lord is correct there was talk about establishing a sub-committee. The committee has an additional member on it at the moment, but the decision about when it will form sub-committees is for the committee itself. It depends on the number and volume of the instruments laid. When it gets to that critical mass, the committee will divide into sub-committees.

[Baroness Smith of Basildon]

Can I clarify? My understanding is that names have already been requested and both sub-committees are in the process of being established.

[The Senior Deputy Speaker]

The noble Baroness has information that is superior to mine at the moment, but I am happy for it to be made public.