Parliamentary Standards Bill

My Lords, the noble Earl can ask as much as he likes. I have found, when I have responded to similar questions from him in previous debates, that I have rarely satisfied him. However, I will put the questions to the noble Baroness at a later stage in my remarks. I hope that that will suffice. I will say something about constitutional issues. The best way to do this is to draw your Lordships’ attention to certain provisions of the Bill. First, there is the question of the relationship between Parliament and the courts. This has been managed very satisfactorily ever since the Act of Settlement. There has been a constitutional understanding that the courts will not interfere with parliamentary procedures and Parliament will not interfere with the procedures of the courts. That balance, which is one of constitutional convention, is now threatened. A good example of this is the enforcement provision in Clause 7(2)—a provision to which both the noble Baroness and the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, have drawn our attention. The provision states: ""The IPSA may recommend to the House of Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges that the House should exercise any of its disciplinary powers in relation to a member of the House"." That will be as a consequence of an inquiry made by the commissioner and endorsed by IPSA. Until now, the arrangements that have been in place since 1995 have never been questioned in any court of law. The commissioner for standards, who has been put in place to examine any complaint about a Member of another place, has conducted his proceedings, reached his conclusions and made his recommendations while acting as part of another place, and therefore being protected by the provisions of Clause IX of the Bill of Rights. Will that still be the case? The Bill requires IPSA to recommend to the Committee on Standards and Privileges certain actions as a result of its investigation. It is clear that the recommendation will be capable of being judicially reviewed by a court. Will the ability of the court to judicially review extend to the decision of the Committee on Standards and Privileges?