Liaison Committee

Lord Duncan of Springbank Excerpts

Thursday 15th December 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords—

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord Duncan of Springbank) (Con)]

I believe I first have to say, “The Question is that this Motion be agreed to”. Actually, the noble Lord is right—he should come in now.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

That is the first time that anyone has admitted that I am right. It is a red-letter day, and it could not have come from a better person than my friend the noble Lord, Lord Duncan.

As the Senior Deputy Speaker will know, I sometimes get concerned that there is a tendency to forget that this Parliament represents the whole of the United Kingdom, not just England. There could be a danger that, in two of these topics in particular, the consideration might cover just England. Can the Liaison Committee or the Senior Deputy Speaker give the House some assurance that advice will be given to the members of the Select Committees, to the clerks and to others, that they should take account of the situation in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland as well as England before making their reports? Otherwise, they will not reflect our responsibilities as part of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.