Business of the House (Lisbon Treaty)

The purpose of setting aside proceedings under Standing Order No. 24 is to protect the time available to the House for the scrutiny of the Bill and discussion of the treaty. The Government’s intention, shown in the motion, is to protect timetabled scrutiny of the Bill. It is the type of thing that the hon. Gentleman ought to welcome, and I think that he has slightly misunderstood the point. Paragraph (2) states that the proceedings on an allotted day will be taken in accordance with the table. Paragraph (3) applies existing procedures for programme motions and paragraph (4) protects the proceedings in respect of Standing Order No. 24. Paragraph (5) disapplies the rule on anticipation and will allow the House to consider the substantive motions that the Government table for each themed debate. Paragraph (6) provides a mechanism for the motion to be amended or supplemented at some later stage in our proceedings. That deals with some of the points that hon. Members have made. An amendment can be taken at the start of an allotted day as long as the total time available to the House is not reduced.