HOUSE OF LORDS
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
Die Martis 30° Martii 1999
The House met at eleven o’clock.
PRAYERS were read by the Lord Bishop of Bradford.
1. Affirmation—Peter Robert Henry Lord Melchett made and subscribed the solemn affirmation pursuant to statute.
Papers
2. Command Papers—The following papers were presented to the House by command of Her Majesty and ordered to lie on the Table:
1. Library and Information Commission—Report for 1997-98 of the Library and Information Commission; (—)
2. Disability—Government Response to the Third Report of the House of Commons Social Security Select Committee on Disability Living Allowance; (4307)
3. Public Accounts—Treasury Minute on the Fourth Report from the House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts 1998-99; (4312)
(i) Departmental Reports on the Government’s Expenditure Plans for 1999-2002 by—
(a) the Lord Chancellor’s Department; (4206)
(b) the Departments of the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Forestry Commission; (4215)
(c) the Northern Ireland Office; (4217)
(d) the Department for International Development; (4210)
(e) the Department of Trade and Industry, the Export Credits Guarantee Department, the Office of Fair Trading, the Office of Telecommunications, the Office of Gas Supply and the Office of Electricity Regulation; (4211)
(f) the Welsh Office and the Office of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools in Wales; (4216)
(g) the Inland Revenue; (4220)
(h) Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise; (4219)
(ii) Departmental Report on the Government’s Expenditure Plans for 1999-2000 by the Department of Social Security; (4214)
5. Modernising Government—Modernising Government: Government Proposals. (4310)
3. Affirmative Instruments—The following instruments were laid before the House for approval by resolution and ordered to lie on the Table:
1. Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning) Order 1999; (1005)
2. Draft Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (Amendment) Order 1999;
3. Draft Local Authority (Stocks and Bonds) (Amendment) Regulations 1999.
4. Negative Instruments—The following instruments were laid before the House and ordered to lie on the Table:
1. Fair Employment (Monitoring) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999, laid under the Northern Ireland Act 1974; (148)
2. Social Security (Contributions) Amendment (No. 3) Regulations 1999, laid under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992; (975)
3. Anti-Pollution Works Regulations 1999, laid under the Water Resources Act 1991; (1006)
4. Sweeteners in Food (Amendment) Regulations 1999, laid under the Food Safety Act 1990; (982)
5. Road Humps and Traffic Calming (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 1999, laid under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984; (1000)
6. Health Authorities (England) Establishment Order 1996 Amendment and the Cambridgeshire and Norfolk Health Authorities (Establishment etc.) Order 1999, laid under the National Health Service Act 1977; (1024)
7. Education (Inspection of Vocational Training) (Prescribed Persons and Bodies Awarding or Authenticating Vocational Qualifications) Regulations, laid under the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998; (963)
8. Highway Litter Clearance and Cleaning (Transfer of Responsibility) (North West Leicestershire and South Derbyshire) Order 1999, laid under the Environmental Protection Act 1990; (1007)
9. Social Security Contributions (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 1999, laid under the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) Act 1999; (1027)
10. Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 1999, laid under the Civil Procedure Act 1997; (1008)
11. High Court and County Courts (Allocation of Arbitration Proceedings) (Amendment) Order 1999, laid under the Arbitration Act 1996; (1010)
12. Contracting Out of Functions (Court Staff) Order 1999, laid under the Courts Act 1971; (1013)
13. Family Proceedings (Miscellaneous Amendments) Rules 1999, laid under the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984; (1012)
14. Non-Contentious Probate (Amendment) Rules 1999, laid under the Supreme Court Act 1981; (1015)
15. Court Funds (Amendment) Rules 1999, laid under the Administration of Justice Act 1982; (1021)
16. High Court and County Courts Jurisdiction (Amendment) Order 1999, laid under the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990; (1014)
17. (i) Highways (Road Humps) Regulations 1999— (1025)
(ii) Highways (Traffic Calming) Regulations 1999— (1026)
laid under the Highways Act 1980.
5. Papers not subject to parliamentary proceedings—The following papers were laid before the House and ordered to lie on the Table:
1. Accounts for 1997-98 of the Commission for Racial Equality, together with the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, laid under the Race Relations Act 1976;
2. Costs, Sentencing Profiles and the Scottish Criminal Justice System 1997, laid under the Police (Scotland) Act 1967;
3. European Parliamentary Elections (Day of Poll) Order 1999, laid under the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1978. (949)
Select Committee Reports
6. Parliamentary privilege—The Report from the Joint Committee was made; it was ordered that the Report be printed, together with the minutes of proceedings and minutes of evidence. (HL Paper 43—I, II and III).
7. Statutory Instruments—The 14th Report from the Joint Committee was made on certain statutory instruments, including the following affirmative instruments:
Draft General Teaching Council for Wales (Constitution) Regulations 1999;
Draft General Teaching Council for England (Constitution) Regulations 1999;
Draft European Parliamentary Elections Regulations 1999;
it was ordered that the Report be printed. (HL Paper 46)
Private Business
8. University College London Bill—The bill was brought from the Commons, read a first time and referred to the Examiners.
Public Business
9. Road Traffic Regulation (Cycle Parking) Bill [HL]— A bill to amend section 63 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984; and for connected purposes was presented by the Lord Rotherwick, read a first time and ordered to be printed. (HL Bill 43)
10. Road Traffic Regulation (Cycle Parking) Bill [HL]— It was ordered that the Explanatory Notes relating to the bill be printed. (HL Bill 43-EN)
11. Academic and Academic-Related Staff Pay and Conditions Bill [HL]— A bill to make provision with respect to the remuneration, recruitment, retention and other conditions of employment of academic and academic-related staff; and for connected purposes was presented by the Lord McCarthy, read a first time and ordered to be printed. (HL Bill 44)
12. House of Lords Bill—The debate was resumed on the motion that the bill be now read a second time, to which an amendment had been moved at end to insert (“but this House regrets that the bill radically alters the historic composition of the House of Lords for party political advantage, without consultation or consensus on the successor House’s role and composition and without making it more democratic”); after further debate, the amendment was agreed to (see division list); then the original motion, as amended, was agreed to and the bill was committed to a Committee of the Whole House.
The House was adjourned at nine minutes past three o’clock
in the morning of Wednesday 31st March
till later the same day, half-past two o’clock in the afternoon.
MICHAEL DAVIES
Cler: Parliamentor: |
