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

I do not disagree with the noble Lord’s analysis but I thought that he was being a little unfair to the Liberal Democrat Party because surely the whole point of the Committee stage is to allow for amendments to be made in the light of discussion. To be fair, the noble Lord’s amendment came about because of discussion at Second Reading. However, the Government have reservations about the way in which the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, has approached his amendment. I reflect comments made by other noble Lords. No doubt, he is agonising over whether to press it to a vote. If he decides not to do so and to consider the comments that have been made, it seems to me that is a vindication of the way your Lordships work. It seems to me that no one disagrees with the principle of providing an exemption to noble Lords working abroad for international organisations such as NATO and the United Nations on the basis that the Bill is drafted. It is clearly in this country’s interest that distinguished Members of Parliament and people from other reaches of life take part in international organisations. That must be in the interests of the United Kingdom. I am sure we acknowledge the splendid work carried out by noble Lords from all parties and the Cross Benches who have held very high office in international organisations. Clearly, they have made a huge contribution to those organisations and make highly relevant contributions to our debates in the light of their international experience. It would be a great loss if that were not allowed to happen in future. The problem with the amendment’s drafting has already been mentioned. The United Kingdom is a member of many international organisations. The noble Lord, Lord Howard, suggested that we are not aware of how many but to try to discover that would be a futile and costly exercise. I remember answering a Question on international treaties and being asked how many this country had signed. Over the years we have signed hundreds, if not thousands, and I suspect that the same applies with regard to international organisations although I can confirm that we are not a member of the Patagonian Society of Walrus Lovers.