British Summer Time

Lord Spicer Excerpts

Wednesday 25th May 2011 Lords Chamber

Asked By

[Lord Spicer]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will further consider the practice of changing the clocks between British Summer Time and Greenwich Mean Time.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox)]

My Lords, we have been changing the clocks between British Summer Time and Greenwich Mean Time for a century in order to benefit from lighter evenings. The dates on which we do so are now fixed by the European Community directive on summer time, so there is no scope for change.

[Lord Spicer]

I sort of thank my noble friend for that, but is she aware that no relevant organisations now support the turning back of the clocks in the autumn? In other words, they all favour more daylight time, with the possible exception of the Government of Scotland.

[Baroness Wilcox]

Yes, I am of course aware that many organisations throughout the country would like to see a change. However, other industries—the construction industry et cetera—really do not. I am sympathetic to many of the arguments but, as the Prime Minister has made clear, we can make a change only if there is consensus throughout the United Kingdom, which, of course, includes Scotland.