Parliamentary Standards Bill

I have had a little time to pursue this matter while, as the noble Lord, Lord Cope, suggested, we were debating more weighty matters. Indeed, I have been on a similar journey through the Bill to look at the various ways in which the Speaker of the Commons is referred to. The noble Lord is absolutely right, but I am glad to say that there is a coherent justification for what on the face of it seems to be some inconsistency. The noble Lord could have put down a number of amendments but he has chosen to use what might be described as illustrative examples. Schedules 1 and 2 use "Speaker" and are given a definition because the word is used on a number of occasions. Schedule 3 has no definition because "Speaker" is used only once. The noble Lord also points out in the body of the Bill what he describes as further inconsistency. Part of the reason for that is because opposition amendments have been accepted during the passage of the Bill which in themselves have introduced some inconsistency. However, this does not seem to be an unreasonable situation. Clause 9 refers to "Speaker" in several places, hence the need for a definition. In any event, the one thing noble Lords want from this Bill is clarity. Each part of the Bill makes it clear who is being referred to. I accept fully that it would be possible for us to seek consistency and I would be interested to know if the noble Lord is going to press us on this point. I do not consider it to be absolutely essential. Amendment 81A concerns a different point. The noble Lord is right that the Speaker is in fact the Chairman of the House of Commons Commission. It is really a question of the quality of the Speaker’s involvement in changing the capacity in which he is acting. The provisions are about the staff of the House of Commons and it is therefore the House of Commons Commission rather than the Speaker who is the employer of the staff. That apparently is why he is referred to in this way in that particular clause. I can say to the noble Lord that the House of Commons has been consulted on the drafting and has no difficulty with it. There are two different issues here, but I hope that on Amendment 81A, I have persuaded him that we should stick with the wording as it is. If he thinks that the inconsistencies really do cause a problem, we shall look at them between now and the Report stage, but I am not convinced that this is a matter of great moment.