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House of Lords (Members’ Taxation Status) Bill [HL]

The fact that the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, has had to propose an amendment to a Bill put forward by someone on his own Benches—indeed, he said that his noble friend had asked him to put it down—raises a question about how much thought went into the Bill in the first place. That seems particularly unacceptable in a week when this House has sat until midnight more than once to consider issues of fundamental importance on a government Bill, showing how scarce and valuable the House’s time is. It would have been better to have got it right the first time. I think I understand where the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, is coming from, but Amendments Nos. 3 and 5, which would allow those working in an official capacity to retain membership of your Lordship’s House—