Arrangement of Business

Lord Kennedy of Southwark Excerpts

Friday 13th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords—

[Noble Lords]

Hear, hear!

[Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)]

I did not want to disappoint noble Lords. Before we begin this day in Committee, I shall make my usual brief remarks. First, I reiterate my thanks, on behalf of the whole House, to all the staff across the House who are facilitating this Sitting. I know that noble Lords are aware of the huge amount of work that takes place to enable us to consider this important business.

I will not repeat everything that I have said before at length, but I thought that it would be helpful to remind noble Lords of a few key points. Again, I will look to adjourn our proceedings at around 6 pm. Any noble Lord may seek to bring our proceedings to an end before then by moving the Motion that the House be now resumed.

Today will begin with a debate on a group of amendments that was adjourned when proceedings concluded on our previous day in Committee. Once the Deputy Chairman of Committees calls the debate on that group of amendments, any noble Lord who was here at the start of the proceedings on our previous day of debate may participate, but nobody else. The clerks have helpfully provided a list of all those who were present; it was shared with the usual channels last week and again yesterday. I have asked the Whips to monitor this and ensure that only those on the list participate. So, please, if you were not here at the start of the debate last time we sat, do not attempt to speak. Shouting out, “Let them speak”, is not helpful when the Companion is clear on this.

When we conclude today and look to finish our proceedings at 6 pm, it will be easier if we can conclude the group we are on by then, rather than going on to a new group. Obviously, if I have to, I will adjourn again in the middle of the group, but it is much cleaner for everybody if we finish the group so that we can start a new debate on the next day. The clerks will compile a list of the people speaking in the later debates to ensure that we have everyone’s names if we have to adjourn mid-group.

My noble and learned friend Lord Falconer of Thoroton has again set a target for today’s Committee debate. As I have said before, I hope that discipline and the usual courtesies will apply and that we will make progress towards the target. The Whips will facilitate a short 40-minute lunch break at a convenient point around 1 pm. For general guidance on how we should proceed and conduct ourselves, I highly recommend the Companion—in particular, paragraph 4.29 on page 60, and paragraphs 8.81 and 8.82 on page 143.

Finally, conversations during the debate are not welcome. If you want to have a conversation, please leave the Chamber then come back when you have finished it. With that, we shall move on to the debate.