The Senior Deputy Speaker

My Lords, I think I have an answer to all the questions which have been asked. First, the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, seems to be advocating a power grab by the Lord Speaker and the Deputy Speakers. I have to say, we are a self-governing House. I have been in this House a very long time, longer than most noble Lords, and I have twice seen noble Lords intervene on fellow Peers and put the Motion that the noble Lord be no longer heard. There are procedures for doing that, but the bottom line is that this is a self-governing House and any change from that would be a radical change and a matter for the usual channels. The noble Lord, Lord Bellingham, talked about “business attire” and I agree with the general points he made on that. On his final question, it is the Lord Chamberlain and not the Lord Great Chamberlain who is a life Peer—I hope that clears up that matter. I want to make the point that no women wear ties in this Chamber. While I was a magistrate, I went through this exact issue about whether magistrates should wear ties when they sit in magistrates’ courts. In that context, the rule of the court is that participants should uphold the dignity of the court. There is no explicit reference to wearing a tie, but I think that guidance is appropriate for this Chamber as well. It is for each individual Member to dress appropriately. There are a few male noble Lords who choose not to wear a tie and that is a matter for them. My noble friend Lord Davies also mentioned the dress code. I can see that he is excelling himself, because he is wearing his aubergine suit at the moment, which is unique in this Chamber, and I am glad that he is raising the standards of male dress within the House. My noble friends Lord Sikka, Lord Harris and Lord Dubs basically put forward ideas that were more radical than what is proposed in the report. In the report, we have emphasised the existing tenor of the guidance on how to behave in the Chamber. A reduction has been proposed in speaking times on Report and at later stages of a Bill. To answer the noble Baroness, Lady Goldie, accurately, the clock will flash at eight minutes at those later stages, but there will be no change to the way that the clock will behave in Oral Questions. It will be for the Chief Whip or the party whips to intervene if they feel that somebody is going over the allotted time. I think I have covered all the points, so I beg to move.