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Parliament (Joint Departments) Bill [HL]

Again, I appreciate and understand the point that the noble Lord seeks to address through the amendment. If my memory serves me correctly, he made some reference to the matter on Second Reading. I assure him that the operation of PICT already takes account of the sitting hours of both Houses. Clause 3(2)(b) relates to staff terms and conditions, and it is not anticipated that a joint department would require significantly different terms and conditions from those of either House. The matter will remain subject to consultation with staff representatives in connection with any joint department. As the noble Lord knows, a key purpose of the Bill is to protect staff rights—that is precisely why we needed it—and staff representatives have been assured of management’s early intention to set up a Whitley committee structure for PICT. On the general issue of service levels and what might happen if the two Houses wanted different things, I do not think that we would get to the point of a lowest common denominator. For example, the two Houses have co-operated closely in relation to the IT strategy for a long time. Our House has made its own decisions about Members’ equipment and the levels of support required. If there are proposals for future joint departments, they will have to come to the Floor of the House, so I do not anticipate that we would agree anything that would mean that our House would not be in a position to make our service needs clear. I recognise the noble Lord’s concerns—I am continuing to talk, but here is the noble Baroness, Lady Neuberger, so I can stop now—but I ask him to withdraw his amendment.