Member

I note the noble Earl’s amendment with his proposal for a specific number. Of course, my noble friend has already said that, in previous times, Prime Ministers had limited the number of Cross-Bench peerages that HOLAC could create. I think that I am right in saying that HOLAC has yet to appoint any new Cross-Bench Peer this year but, in the past few weeks alone, the Prime Minister has appointed four Cross-Bench Peers. I therefore ask the noble Baroness the Leader: what are her views about the risk of, in effect, two-tier Cross-Bench Peers? We have those who are judged on their suitability versus those who are not. Can she confirm—if I have understood the Prime Minister’s Statement correctly—that the Prime Minister could ignore any HOLAC concerns about the suitability of a Peer who he nominates directly to the Cross Benches and that, to go back to my original concern, we could therefore have directly appointed Cross-Bench Peers who are supposedly not obliged in any way to the Prime Minister, who HOLAC may have thought to be potentially not suitable, if they had come through its processes, but the Prime Minister could decide that they are suitable and appoint them directly? I would be grateful for her views on that.