Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, I was a member of the Constitution Committee when it thought about examining the accountability of civil servants but I am no longer a member and I played no part in the inquiry. I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Jay, for being responsible for this valuable report, although I was a little confused by both her summary at the beginning of the report and the summary of the...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: I, too, share in welcoming the noble Lord, Lord Trees, and commend his congenial and appropriate speech. The Leveson report reminds us that the inquiry, "was sparked by public revulsion at a single action-the hacking of the mobile phone of a murdered teenager". However, its scope was expanded widely, and it became an enthralling and sometimes entertaining event. The terms of reference of the...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: I welcome my noble friend's debate and I shall learn more today than I can offer. I was not aware that the Historical Manuscripts Commission had been an integral part of the National Archives since 2003 and that the commission grew out of the long-standing Keeper of Public Records; nor had I learnt about the role of Lord Bingham of Cornhill. The National Archives is an important and...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, I, too, congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Richard, on his labour of love in chairing this demanding committee. I also thank my colleagues, my noble friends Lady Scott of Needham Market and Lord Tyler, who were members of the committee and worked long and hard. It is a very useful report as far as it goes, but that is not very far. We might have anticipated this, given the purpose...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: I greatly welcome my noble friend's Bill and join in the opportunity to discuss a growing environmental problem. The significance of the matter was drawn to my attention by the Highgate Society, of which I am a member. Highgate is part of postal district N6, about six miles north of Trafalgar Square. The society is outstanding, going from pursuing abuses such as demolishing fine ancient trees...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, this debate is the latest in a series of short debates in which the House has explored the causes and consequences of stroke. Of today's list, three-the noble Baroness, Lady Rendell, the noble Lord, Lord Clinton-Davis, and I-spoke at the first of them on 23 May 2006, arising from the pioneering National Audit Office report Reducing Brain Damage: Faster access to better stroke care....
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, on the occasion of a debate in the House on 16 December last, I said that I had been agnostic about the merits of the July 2010 Liberating the NHS White Paper and nor had I been persuaded since. Ten months later, I have moved on, but I am still uneasy about the Bill. That is the way I shall remain, long after the legislation is passed and when the policy is finally implemented....
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, if I upset many of my noble friends on these Liberal Democrat Benches, I am sorry, but I remain opposed to a wholly or partially elected House. That was my view when I joined this House nearly 20 years ago and, since then, it has remained broadly the same. As a former leader of the Liberal Democrat Peers, and to avoid any misunderstanding, I told the Deputy Prime Minister last...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, I welcome the noble Lord's success in the ballot and listened to his speech with great interest. However, I am disappointed that there has been so little discussion of the future of the NHS in your Lordships' House since the White Paper was published in July, five months ago. I had expected a substantive response on one of the Opposition days, as the National Health Service has been...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, as other speakers have said, the Constitution Committee was guided through this inquiry by my noble friend Lord Goodlad. As a member of the committee, I too pay tribute to his calm chairmanship, as on other occasions, and I enjoyed his anecdotes today. I also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Quin, who spoke earlier, who persuaded the Committee to look into the role of referendums. It...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, I, too, am grateful to my noble friend Lord Goodlad for steering through the Constitution Committee's inquiry shrewdly and on a tight timetable. Although we might have investigated some further areas, such as the link between the Cabinet Office and departments-and more about the Treasury-the report is a useful contribution on how best to run government. Much of the evidence is...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, yesterday, I was one of 66 speakers in a debate that extended over eight hours. Today, we have much fewer speakers, but this debate may do more to the health and happiness of our citizens than yesterday's event. On 28 May 2006, I introduced a debate on stroke victims. My text was the Comptroller and Auditor General's report, Reducing Brain Damage: Faster Access to Better Stroke...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, like the noble Lord, Lord Morris, we are all allowed a personal reminiscence-perhaps an indulgence-on this occasion. My text for today arises from 20 October 1994, when I said in the House: "I believe that it would be a mistake for any government to make the reform of the House of Lords the centrepiece of the first parliamentary Session".-[ Official Report, 20/10/94; col. 368.] I...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, with permission and to my surprise-
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, just over two years ago, the noble Lord, Lord Harrison, introduced a debate on the forthcoming role of Liverpool as the European Capital of Culture 2008. I am delighted that the right reverend Prelate has chosen to develop this theme in the aftermath of the events, reviewing the outcome, assessing the lessons and looking ahead at the economic prospects and anticipated restraints on...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, I greatly welcome this debate and listened to the speech of the noble Lord, Lord Walton, with pleasure and close attention. I am wholly a layman and I speak as a patient about one niche of concern. Eight years ago, I had a stroke. I was very lucky; there was no apparent physical damage, but my reading, writing, speaking and comprehension were severely affected, and I had two and a...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, I am particularly grateful to the Lord President for replying to this modest debate when she has so many heavy responsibilities. Let me explain the occasion that prompted me to initiate this debate. It was the news last summer that Ministers would table a number of late amendments to the Counter-Terrorism Bill 2008. The object was to make 42 days of detention more palatable to the...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, on page 3 of the Statement there are references to the role of the Cabinet Office. It says: "The Cabinet Office refused the request", then, "the Cabinet Office had considered", and: "The Cabinet Office appealed". The Cabinet Office is an institution. Who made the decision? The Cabinet Office has no collective voice. It is responsible, if anything, to the Prime Minister of the day....
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, my question was which individual made the decision. The Cabinet Office is not an institution. Some person or group of people must have made those decisions. I was not arguing about the outcome; I was asking how it happened.
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, while we all welcome the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Chichester to this debate, many of us have been here before. We have been the same pieces on the same chessboard since the decision in principle to join the European Community nearly 40 years ago. In today's speakers list there are 14 noble Lords who voted in the House of Commons, 10 of whom also spoke, on 28 October...