Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: My Lords, I associate myself with what my noble friend Lord Wright said on this matter. There can be no possible right for civil servants or diplomats to publish information about the former Prime Minister's shirt tails. Indeed, there can be no public right to know about such matters, which are irrelevant to a Minister's conduct as a Minister. Will the Minister refresh his memory of the...
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: My Lords, I would like to thank the noble Lord, Lord Harrison, most warmly for giving us the opportunity to have this debate this evening. I must only apologise to him that I was not able to be here at the very beginning because of a speaking engagement outside which went on—through no fault of my own—longer than I had expected. It is very good to have this opportunity to debate the...
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: My Lords, I recognise that if ever the Civil Service Bill in the consultation paper were to come before Parliament, it would be likely to be amended and, I dare say, improved. However, would the Minister be prepared to help us to contain our impatience by assuring us that while we wait for the Bill to appear, the Government will at least observe the principles and provisions contained in the Bill?
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: My Lords, while welcoming the addition to the accommodation as a user of it and having no objection to the change of name, I must ask the noble Lord the Chairman of Committees whether he will get up on his stepladder and change the name above the door, which still says Fielden House.
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: What is the difference between "thinks" and "genuinely believes on reasonable grounds"? I suspect that the Prime Minister genuinely believed on reasonable grounds that the Iraqis had weapons of mass destruction. I do not know whether there is a sufficient difference between the two forms of wording to justify the amendment or whether it would be better to look at something else that achieves...
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: Perhaps the Minister could consider another alternative. It might read: "The Minister has reason to believe that".
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: My Lords, perhaps I may declare an interest as having once been the victim, if that is the correct word, of the rules on business appointments. I can assure the House that six months is a very long time between one's retirement and moving into an appointment outside. It is extraordinary how quickly one becomes completely out of date in terms of what one knows about what happens in government...
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: My Lords, at this late stage in a long and very interesting debate, I intend to confine myself to a few remarks about two aspects of the Butler report. I endorse the gratitude expressed by so many to the Butler committee for what is a very impressive report. I should have expected no less from the committee chaired by my noble friend and successor, the noble Lord, Lord Butler of Brockwell,...
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: My Lords, on that last point, the greatest possible assurance would be given to civil servants about the Government's commitment to the values of the Civil Service if the Government were to withdraw the power of special advisers to exercise executive or directorial powers over career civil servants. The Minister appeared to suggest that as there was only one of them, that was only a little...
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: My Lords, I speak as a former member of one of the European Union sub-committees serving under the chairmanship of the noble Lord, Lord Tomlinson, the noble Lord, Lord Grenfell, and the noble Lord, Lord Radice. It seems to me that there are two questions to which we need answers, and that we do not have those answers as yet. The first question concerns what the new Joint Committee would do,...
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: My Lords, is the Minister aware—as he must be—that there is a good deal of doubt about whether the process complies with the standing conventions and Treasury rules for appointments in that it will take place before the Bill's Second Reading in the House of Commons? Once again, standards in public life are being called into question. May I suggest to the Minister that the matter be...
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: My Lords, some commentators have been critical of the report of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Hutton, because he did not address the question of whether the Government were justified in taking this country into a war to destroy Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. The noble and learned Lord himself said that that was not within his terms of reference and, in any case, an inquiry into such an...
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: My Lords, your Lordships will understand that it is a very special pleasure for me to be able to be the first to congratulate my successor and former colleague, my noble friend Lord Wilson of Dinton, on his maiden speech. He has spoken with wisdom and judgment and we all look forward to hearing from him many times on these and other subjects. It is a funny thing, but former secretaries of the...
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: My Lords, I support the amendment moved by the noble Lord, Lord Peyton of Yeovil. As I listen to the debate and receive correspondence from outside, I am impressed by the strength of opposition to the change proposed by Her Majesty's Government. I am impressed by the fact that, as the noble Lord, Lord Carlisle, has put it, the experience, independence and objectivity of the magistrates—the...
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: My Lords, is the Minister aware—I am sure she is—that the more grand operas a company undertakes and the larger the house in which it performs, the more choristers it requires; and that a company which performs a large number of grand operas in a large house is unlikely to save much money, if any, by cutting the size of its permanent chorus and engaging freelance choristers where...
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: My Lords, perhaps I may intervene briefly in the gap and express my gratitude to the noble Lord, Lord Strabolgi, for introducing this Motion and raising this important subject in characteristically energetic terms. I greatly regretted the fact that the noble Lord, Lord Beaumont of Whitley, wanted to exclude the Three Graces from the Waverley criteria, since I spent six months of my working...
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: My Lords, I pay tribute to the hard work of the Joint Committee. I do not know whether it has kick-started the process, as some noble Lords have suggested, but at least it has cleared the way with its analysis of the reform issues. I have always taken the view that one should not address the composition of the House of Lords unless and until one addresses its functions and powers. Since it...
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: My Lords, I, too, congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Holme of Cheltenham, on his success in the ballot and on choosing this subject for debate. I strongly agree with him on the need to clarify the respective responsibilities of Ministers, political advisers and civil servants. Ministers are supported by a permanent, non-political, professional career Civil Service, with, in the words of G. M....
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: My Lords—
Lord Armstrong of Ilminster: My Lords, I begin by expressing my gratitude and admiration for the way in which the noble Lord, Lord Grenfell, chaired our committee and then our proceedings. It has been a great privilege to work with him and under him in this inquiry. I should like also to second his thanks to the Clerk, who did such a good job as her first effort. I make no apology for returning to the subject to which...
