Cabinet Office minister Baroness Fiona Twycross has said the Government cannot support legislation that would impose a timetable for public consultation on replacing the House of Lords.
The House of Lords (Alternative Second Chamber) Bill, brought forward by Plaid Cymru peer Baroness Smith of Llanfaes, would require a consultation to begin within six months of the legislation being passed. It would run for at least 12 weeks, and ministers would then have to publish a summary of responses and the Government's response within a further six months.
Fiona Twycross: 'Significant sympathy' with the principle
Speaking at the bill's second reading on Friday 23 October, Twycross said the Government had "significant sympathy with the central principle behind the Bill" and remained committed to its manifesto pledge to consult on an alternative second chamber that is more representative of the regions and nations.
However, she argued that the bill would "constrain the Government's ability in how we approach the delivery of our manifesto commitment by prematurely imposing a duty on the Government to consult". A meaningful consultation on such an important issue, she said, "demands a careful and thought-through plan".
A staged approach to reform
The minister pointed to the removal of the remaining hereditary peers' right to sit and vote in the Lords as a significant change already delivered. She also said the Government would respond substantively later this year to the recommendations of the Lords Retirement and Participation Committee.
Asked when the promised consultation would begin, Twycross said: "It was a manifesto commitment. I cannot say now exactly when it would start. What we do not want is to be bounced into a 12-week consultation from the point at which this Bill would become law."
The bill was given a second reading despite the Government's reservations and will now go to committee.
