House of Lords: New Peers

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock Excerpts

Thursday 10th October 2013 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock]

To ask the Chairman of Committees what logistic and financial adjustments are proposed to take account of the recent list of new Peers.

[The Chairman of Committees (Lord Sewel)]

None at this stage.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab)]

Needless to say, that is a disappointing answer. I want to make it clear that I do not associate the Chairman of Committees in any way with the Government’s cynicism in failing to abolish this House and now packing it with placemen and women. However, he is in the forefront of facing the consequences. Will he confirm that we are now reaching a new peak in membership and that new working Peers are—quite rightly—attending more frequently than those who have left or have died off?

[Noble Lords]

Oh!

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock]

I mean, more than they used to attend. This is resulting in higher expenditure on allowances and greater demand on all our resources and facilities. Quite frankly, this cannot be achieved on a fixed budget.

[The Chairman of Committees]

My Lords, it is not part of my job to defend or attack government policy. I just try to keep the show on the road, with the helpful advice and support of the noble Lord in particular. To give a few facts, after the general election in 2010 there were, I think, 117 new creations. Since then, the net increase in the size of your Lordships’ House has been seven. It is difficult to put this: it is likely that the new creations are more active than those who are no longer with us. It is virtually impossible to find a nice set of words to convey those facts.

However, it is worth pointing out that in December the House Committee will consider whether to make any additional provision for any net increases in the membership of the House and in attendances, when it considers the forecast outturn for the current financial year and the budget for the next year.