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Governance of Britain

My Lords, I will respond to the last point first, as it is very important. In general, we need to get the balance right. We do not want to inhibit good people from coming forward; equally we want to make sure that there is public confidence in the way in which those appointments are made. We will seek to get the balance right. On the question of Parliament, the noble Lord put his finger on it. It is a very important principle that parliamentarians should have unfettered access to Parliament, as it is the right of our citizens to make protests. Getting that balance right is what was attempted in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. There has been some comment that perhaps we did not get the balance exactly right and this is an opportunity to have another look. On the question of treaties, I understand what my noble friend is saying but, as I said to the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, there are opportunities to discuss and debate the work leading up to the signing of a treaty. Also, because it is our practice to change domestic legislation before ratification of a treaty, there are many opportunities for parliamentarians to take part in those debates. The consultation paper poses a number of questions about placing Ponsonby in statute, about whether we need more flexibility and about whether the 21-day limit should be extended. What should be the exceptions to the rule? What should be the parliamentary procedure for triggering debates? Noble Lords will know that the noble Lord, Lord Lester, has brought forward Bills on this matter, which will no doubt be a guide to thinking in this area. What would be the outcome of votes? There are a lot of interesting questions, on which we would welcome views.