Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill

Before the noble Lord sits down, I draw to his attention to the fact that, while it is certainly true that a greater number of Members of the other place are not as keenly interested in the detailed legislation as the noble Lord and his colleagues, it is not true of all such persons. I speak as someone who served in every Home Office Standing Committee from early 1992 until my party translated me to a higher field. I found in those committees, dealing with a succession of Bills, that there was a certain consistency of personnel and a constant interaction of and discussion between Members on the Opposition Benches and the then Minister and his officials. There was a degree of scrutiny, much of it very fruitful. But I understand that all of that has been completely disrupted by things called reforms to procedure that have helped to neuter the other place.