Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, it is rare to have a debate in the House primarily about architecture, although we have had occasional debates on design. So I am delighted that the noble Lord, Lord Howarth of Newport, has sought this opportunity and spoken in the way that he did. My own preference today is to look at a larger canvas because there is every reason to celebrate the profession and current British...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: asked Her Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the arrangements for preserving Government archives and preparing official histories. My Lords, I am raising two separate but related matters: how government papers, including ministerial papers, are kept after leaving their working departmental offices and the record of major events described in Crown copyright official...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, I am delighted to join the noble Lord, Lord Harrison, as a prologue to a celebration, or a series of celebrations, throughout 2008. I have been living in London for well over 50 years but I am proud to be a Liverpudlian. I was born in Liverpool, like my father, grandfather, great-grandfather and beyond. I went to school in Liverpool and when I came to this place I chose my title in...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, until the appearance of this admirable Bill, I had reached the reluctant conclusion that my first preference among the current options for reform of the Lords was for no more White Papers, no more parliamentary Statements and no more working groups. I thought that it was time for a moratorium for at least five years. The latest phase of reform started 10 years ago. We have had many...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: asked Her Majesty's Government how and when they will implement the proposals contained in the Department of Health report, Mending Hearts and Brains, in respect of stroke victims. My Lords, at short notice and on a rather quiet day, I am very pleased that several noble colleagues are able to be present on this occasion. A year ago, on 23 May 2006, I raised in the House the treatment of...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, our text for the debate today and tomorrow is a hotchpotch of a White Paper, the product of too many people working too hard at trying to resolve irreconcilable views. By that I mean not only the Cabinet, which is in a mess about Lords reform, but also all the groups and committees which have been striving to find answers to very different questions. However, I have no wish to...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, that is a fascinating and rather perverse argument. I did not notice at the time that all the hereditary Peers wanted to go; on the contrary, there was a negotiation, as a result of which we had the Weatherill amendment, which I think was a mistake. However, despite that, the January 1999 White Paper set the political shape of the House today, broadly reflecting its opinions. In...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: asked Her Majesty's Government: For each National Health Service acute hospital in the last convenient period, how many stroke patients out of the total were scanned (a) within three hours of admission, and (b) within 24 hours of admission; and whether each acute hospital is able routinely to scan patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, in the context of today's debate many of us have been here before and carry some luggage, and, yes, scars. It is nearly 50 years since I attended the meeting at Central Hall, Westminster, on 17 February 1958, that effectively launched the campaign for nuclear disarmament. The distinguished platform included Bertrand Russell, JB Priestly, AJP Taylor and Alan Taylor, my former...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, I welcome the initiative of the noble Lord, Lord Colwyn, in raising today's debate. Shortly before the last general election, I recall another debate in the House to which I listened but in which I did not participate. Almost all noble Lords who spoke had been professionally involved in the health service and were well disposed to the NHS, saying that so many things were getting...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, I should like to refer to the general debates and, in particular, to paragraphs 4 to 8 of the report. As the Chairman of Committees has said, since 1999 there has been a question about whether the general debate day should be switched from Wednesday to Thursday. On the first vote, there was no wish to see a change. In January 2001, a change was proposed, but, following a Division,...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: rose to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the treatment of stroke victims, in light of the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, Reducing Brain Damage: Faster access to better stroke care (HC 452). My Lords, in the early hours of Tuesday 8 May 2001—just five years ago—I was carried by ambulance from my home...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, I would much prefer to precede it by thanking those who have spoken in the debate. There is no time to say anything else. I beg leave to withdraw the Motion for Papers.
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: rose to call attention to the role of the Law Officers; and to move for Papers. My Lords, when the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, moved the Second Reading of the Law Officers Bill on 16 June 1997, it was one of the first Bills of the new Government. It was also his maiden speech and I believe that the noble and learned Lord was also the first Solicitor-General ever to be sitting in...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, forgive me. I should say that in 1992 the Attorney-General—now the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lyell of Markyate—needed to say of the Maastricht Treaty that he was "independently and dispassionately" giving legal advice to the Government, a statement which did not end the argument. The legality of the use of force against Iraq has been and remains a major issue causing problems...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, perhaps I should simply put it on the record that I caught the 2.35 train from Euston to Manchester yesterday and returned at 8.15 from Manchester Piccadilly, and I have survived. I say that because I am quite familiar with what goes on beyond Watford. We have had a good debate and all of the issues have been plainly set out. I shall do no more than take the necessary procedural...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: rose to move, as an amendment to the Motion, at end to insert "but with the omission of paragraph 20(a)".
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, as the Chairman of Committees explained, I tabled the amendment to resolve the choice set out in paragraphs 17 to 21 of the report. As the Chairman of Committees said, the question of switching the general debate day was first discussed in the House on 22 March 1999 and, as the report explains, again on 23 January 2001. On that occasion four years ago, I moved the successful...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, I welcome the debate as I welcomed the interesting report of the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, when it was published. The report is a very useful agenda to which members of all parties, and of none, can decide whether it is time to make some changes. Of the seven authors of the report, a majority have experienced life in the House only when sitting on the Government...
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank: My Lords, when the outcome of the north-east referendum was declared and the Government made their statement, the noble Baroness, Lady Hanham, was entitled to say "I told you so". The Conservative Front Bench is entitled to say that once again in the context of this debate. Unlike the noble Lord, with his distinguished record, my direct experience of local government was brief. For four...