Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB)

My Lords, in previous debates on the future of this House, the phrase “form should follow function” has been used on many an occasion. In the clear introduction from the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor, she stressed the committee’s remit, in that it was allowed to deal with only a small segment of the role and make-up of the Lords. However, in ignoring input, the proposals cannot ensure long-term expertise to undertake our fundamental functions of scrutiny and holding the Government of the day to account. I was in the first cohort of the 15 so-called people’s Peers selected by the Appointments Commission. There are only six of us left now; eight died and one retired. The indomitable Countess of Mar was the one female hereditary Peer selected to remain in her time and was an exemplar in how to conduct effective scrutiny, as well as a mentor to several of us and a guardian extraordinaire of the rules and conventions of the House. She retired at 80 and is still missed. Now, with the hereditary principle gone, prime ministerial patronage is supreme, able to drive the input of Peers with few brakes on the process. Surely entry and exit must be considered and balanced. Our function requires expertise in the widest range of topics—a breadth that requires carefully vetted appointments to the Cross Benches—yet, as we have heard, the Cross Benches will lose the greatest number of Peers in the plan laid out in the report. Professor Meg Russell’s briefing has already been referred to, and my noble friend Lord Patel explained superbly the mathematics involved. The independent House of Lords Appointments Commission must be put on a statutory footing and urgently allowed to appoint if any of this goes forward. To borrow a phrase from my noble friend Lord Sedwill used on the “Today” programme today, the question for each of us is: what can I do for my country? The report recognises the need for leave of absence for those in major roles at home and abroad, but they have a duty to come back to share their in-depth knowledge or to leave. As the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, asked, will the emeritus Peers regain the vote? As the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, pointed out so clearly, one aspect glossed over in the report—