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Liaison Committee

My Lords, I welcome the decision by the Liaison Committee to set up an ad hoc committee on the Barnett formula, particularly with the provisos that have been included to take some of the politics out of it. It is a sensitive subject. I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Barnett, on the persistence with which he has gone about this. I suspect that it is a bit like the Schleswig-Holstein question, but in this case the noble Lord is very much alive and understands it. Not many people, especially those who pontificate on it in the press and elsewhere, understand it, but it is vital. I have no idea how these things are done, but I suggest that the noble Lord should not be allowed to be a First World War general and say, ““Over the top, lads! By God, I wish I was going with you””, but should be very much a part of the ad hoc committee, if for no other reason than that he understands it and its implications. This is a sensible decision. The committee has important work to do in ensuring fairness and equity throughout the whole of the United Kingdom.