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Statistics and Registration Service Bill

My Lords, in introducing this large group of amendments, the Minister said that the question of residual responsibility was less important now that there was to be proper scrutiny by Parliament. Here I am echoing a point made by my noble friend Lady Noakes: will this be done by a joint committee of both Houses of Parliament? I asked for this when we first discussed the matter in the debate on the Loyal Address to the Queen’s Speech last year and the point has been repeated again and again by a number of Members of this House, so we need to know where we stand. The terms of the Prime Minister’s Statement, as I shall come to under another amendment, were not very encouraging. The only mention that the right honourable gentleman made of the House of Lords was in the paragraph about House of Lords reform. Otherwise he seemed to equate the word ““Parliament”” with the House of Commons, which causes a good deal of alarm at this end of the Palace. Will the Minister say something to set our minds at rest? On this important issue, on which the Government have made important concessions, can we have some prospect of there being a joint committee of both Houses?