Royal Albert Hall Bill [HL]
Debate between Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts and Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Con)
My Lords, I had the pleasure of sitting and watching the noble Baroness’s committee in action over a lengthy period, and perhaps I may take up the story. I was not a member of the committee, but I have had a long-standing interest in the affairs of the Royal Albert Hall. I, along with other Members of your Lordships’ House, am very concerned about the central problem of the governance of the Royal Albert Hall—not the operation of the hall, which is a great cultural institution, as the noble Baroness said, but the way it operates.
The group of which I am one is a cross-party group. There is no party-political angle on this; all parties agree that it needs careful further examination, as the noble Baroness said. No less significantly, we are supported in our endeavours by the Charity Commission, the sector regulator, which has been trying for some years to get the Royal Albert Hall to consider, reflect on and address this problem, so far without success.
The Royal Albert Hall has been a charity since 1967. A central tenet of charity law is that you should not benefit personally from the decisions you take as a trustee of a charity. The hall has a governing body of 25, 19 of whom—three-quarters—are seat-holders. It is they who decide which concerts the seats are to be retained for. They may then either use the seats personally or sell them externally for whatever price the market will bear. It has become an exceptionally profitable activity. For example, Members of your Lordships’ House might like to attend this Saturday’s Last Night of the Proms, for which they will pay up to £1,000 for a £100 ticket. If your enthusiasm takes you to want to buy a seat, which will have another 700 years to run on the lease, they are currently selling for about £300,000 each. This is a charity.
The Bill before us, which we will discuss in detail later, will not address any of these issues. In fact, some argue it will make them worse. So, the group of which I am a member will be tabling some amendments for discussion, to address the issues, as far as we can, within the provisions of the Long Title of the Bill, at Third Reading.
To conclude, I am astonished that the promoters of the Bill have decided to bring it back. It received an exceptionally rough ride at Second Reading on 19 October last year. The then Attorney-General in her report on the Bill expressed disappointment that more had not be done to resolve the conflict issue in this new Bill. As the noble Baroness said, our own in-house committee reported extremely unfavourably on the way the proceedings were handled. Those arguments are for another day, but in nodding the Bill through, I would like the House to be aware that a significant number of your Lordships are very concerned about what lies behind it.
The Senior Deputy Speaker (Lord Gardiner of Kimble)
My Lords, I am most grateful to the noble Baroness for her contribution and for informing me beforehand, and to the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, for doing so also. For private Bills, a revival Motion is a standard practice at the beginning of a Session where a carry-over Motion could not be passed at the end of the last, as set out in Private Business Standing Order 150B. The Bill passed a number of stages in the last session. The remaining stage in this House is Third Reading. Should Members wish to debate or object to the Bill, the appropriate time to do is, as has been advised, at Third Reading and on the Motion that the Bill do now pass and, as I think has been accepted, not on this Motion.
To assist noble Lords ahead of Third Reading, paragraphs 9.53 and 9.54 of the Companion state that any amendments proposed to be moved at Third Reading must be submitted at least two days in advance of the stage to my office or the Private Bill Office, and that it is a courtesy that any noble Lord who wishes to speak without proposing amendments notifies my office of their intention to do so. Such remarks should be made on the Motion that the Bill do now pass, not on the Motion for Third Reading. With those housekeeping matters for future stages, I beg to move.