---

Health Bill

I am very much in sympathy with the aim behind the amendments, and the noble Lord has made a powerful case. Nevertheless I am hesitant about supporting him all the way in so far as his amendments affect the Palace of Westminster, and I will explain why. The reason why Parliament itself is not currently subject to the provisions of the Bill is not because it is a royal palace or the property of the Crown, but because of something far less tangible: parliamentary privilege. As I am sure we would all agree, parliamentary privilege is extremely precious. It is a concept that extends much wider than the application of this or that law; it provides an important protection for all who serve conscientiously as parliamentarians, and I do not believe we should attack or erode that principle unless there is an overwhelming case for doing so. In the case of disability discrimination I am prepared to accept that the case was probably overwhelming, but on balance my feeling in connection with this Bill is that however the noble Lord may feel about his views on smoking, it would probably be wrong to make an exception to parliamentary privilege. In drawing up its internal rules, there are perfectly good ways for Parliament to respect the spirit of the Bill when it becomes an Act and it would be very strange if it did not wish to do just that. I hope that at the very least we can take stock of these larger issues before we are tempted to get fully behind the noble Lord’s amendment.