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Liverpool City Council (Prohibition of Smoking in Places of Work) Bill [HL]

My Lords, I hope that it might be helpful to the House if I intervene briefly at this stage of these two Bills, because opposed private Bills do not come before your Lordships as frequently as they used to some time ago. As the noble Lord, Lord Faulkner, said, although we are at the moment debating the Liverpool City Council (Prohibition of Smoking in Places of Work) Bill, the debate should take place on both Bills, including the London Local Authorities (Prohibition of Smoking in Places of Work) Bill. At the end of the debate, the Question will be put on the Liverpool Bill, and the Question on the London Bill will be taken, I hope, purely formally. As the noble Lord also said, there are a number of petitions—19 against the Liverpool Bill and 20 against the London Bill—a good many of which are in common. Most of those petitions are against the very principle of the Bill, and therefore there is not the slightest doubt that they will be not be withdrawn before the Bill goes to an opposed Bill committee. Therefore there will be every opportunity for those petitioners and the promoters of the Bill to argue their cases before an Opposed Private Bill Committee, which will take place after this. I hope that the House will give this Bill a Second Reading. The difference here is that giving a Second Reading to a private Bill does not give approval entirely to the principle of that Bill, unlike with a public Bill. It is perfectly possible for the Opposed Private Bill Committee to throw the Bill out in its entirety or to amend the Bill, or whatever. Then the Bill must come back to the House for a Third Reading, at which time it is also possible for the House to reject the Bill on a Division. I am hoping that your Lordships will not reject the Bill at Second Reading. I should point out that the last time that that happened was nearly 70 years ago, in 1937, and it is not our practice to do that now. If there are any further questions on procedure, I shall be happy to try to answer them. I shall be here for most of the debate, although not all, but I shall return for the end.