Lord Lisvane: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 16 November (HL2985), if the information about the number of NHS consultant appointments cancelled is not held in the format requested, in what format that information is held.
Lord Lisvane: My Lords, I should first declare that I am one of the founders of the New Model in Technology & Engineering university being established in Herefordshire and an honorary fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford. I express my thanks to the noble Viscount the Minister and his Commons colleague Jo Johnson, for the time and trouble they have taken to engage with noble Lords on this Bill. I think that...
Lord Lisvane: My Lords, it is a pleasure to be able to reassure the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes of Cumnock, that this is not my annual appearance on these Benches. It is also a pleasure to join in the deserved chorus of congratulation to the noble Lords, Lord Cormack and Lord Norton of Louth, for their hard work, persistence and determination in bringing this issue before your Lordships’ House. It has been...
Lord Lisvane: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many NHS consultant appointments were cancelled, other than by patients, in the last year for which figures are available.
Lord Lisvane: My Lords, we have heard some outstanding speeches in this debate. The contributions of the Leader of the Opposition, of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Wallace of Tankerness, and of the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury were compelling and memorable. Together, they expressed a sense of shock, of lost opportunity and of the need to heal wounds. But the noble Baroness, Lady...
Lord Lisvane: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the measures announced in the Queen's Speech will be published in draft and subject to pre-legislative scrutiny.
Lord Lisvane: My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Richard, and my noble and learned friend Lord Judge both raised issues of financial privilege, often seen perhaps as something of a minority sport. I think procedures have moved on a little since I was directly involved, but I agree that it is an issue that would benefit from greater clarity, as urged by my noble and learned friend Lord Judge, and the...
Lord Lisvane: Even as the farewell symphony is playing, I will just trespass on your Lordships’ patience briefly. My concern is the possibility, even if remote, that the further exchange with the House of Commons that followed the vote last night might lead to an overreaction, rather in the way that led to the Strathclyde report. Regardless of the remaining imperfections in the Bill, the exchange...
Lord Lisvane: My Lords, your Lordships’ Amendments 37 and 184 taken together would make the Secretary of State’s determination in respect of vacant high-value housing be introduced by regulations that are subject to the affirmative procedure for matters of principle and the negative procedure for matters relating to a single authority. I do not accept the Minister’s argument that a determination has...
Lord Lisvane: My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister, especially for her undertaking to seek consensus as the details have developed—that is extremely helpful. I know that she has taken my criticisms in good part. In practice, these amendments raise issues that are lessons for the future, rather than an occasion for a final skirmish on Report. Accordingly, I beg leave to withdraw Amendment 138 and will...
Lord Lisvane: My Lords, as we embark on the last group in five heavy days of this Bill on Report, I am under no illusions at all about your Lordships’ wish to have a lengthy debate. However, it is perhaps appropriate that the issues raised by this last group reflect concerns raised at Second Reading, in Committee and on Report: what is good legislation and how do you go about it? Amendment 138 is simply...
Lord Lisvane: My Lords, this amendment is consequential upon Amendment 53, which was agreed on 13 April. I beg to move.
Lord Lisvane: My Lords, I am extremely grateful to the Minister. With her customary diplomacy and courtesy, she has given us about a quarter of a loaf. It may tend towards a third of a loaf, but not more than that. In effect, she has accepted the second element of Amendment 132. However, the issue of the determination being in regulations subject to parliamentary approval is serious. I was much fortified...
Lord Lisvane: My Lords, Clause 67(1) gives power to the Secretary of State to make a determination requiring a local housing authority to make a payment to him in respect of vacant high-value housing—or, if later government amendments are agreed to, higher-value housing. The vehicle of a determination has been well described by the distinguished legislative draftsman Daniel Greenberg, who is also the...
Lord Lisvane: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what their policy is towards the commencement of the Easter Act 1928.
Lord Lisvane: My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Goodlad, whose 2011 report—particularly at about paragraph 154 in the context of today’s debate—is a source of great wisdom. The report of the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, is technically an excellent piece of work. I say this not merely because he has been kind enough to refer in it to two works in which I myself had a...
Lord Lisvane: My Lords, will Her Majesty’s Government heed the serious concerns expressed by the Constitution Committee and the Delegated Powers Committee of your Lordships’ House to the effect that the threshold between primary and secondary legislation continues to move upwards, with secondary legislation used increasingly for matters of policy and principle which should be the subject of primary...
Lord Lisvane: My Lords, I should preface my remarks with a declaration: I am the patron of Herefordshire Headway, which provides services to adults who have a head injury or an acquired brain injury. It does marvellous work through its day centre, offering a range of activities and therapies led by specialists. I warmly endorse the view of the noble Baroness, Lady Wheeler, that there needs to be a...
Lord Lisvane: My Lords, I join the chorus of congratulation to the noble Baroness, Lady Prosser, for initiating this debate. It is a subject of huge social and economic importance, and the debate is very timely. I start with a declaration of interest, or at least of a connection: my wife was an apprentice with Baker Perkins, a company mainly involved in heavy engineering. In the interests of marital...
Lord Lisvane: I support the Motion in the name of my noble friend. Comity—a relationship of mutual respect between the two Houses—is extremely important, as the noble Lord, Lord Wakeham, has pointed out with his customary wisdom. It is therefore equally important that this Motion is seen not as an attempt to interfere with the Standing Orders of the House of Commons but as a means of examining a...
