THE Government last night disclosed that agreement has been reached

with Labour over moves to reform Commons' hours.

Leader of the House Tony Newton said the proposals will be debated

next Monday, and it was aimed to bring them in as an experiment for the

rest of this session.

The proposals include: the Commons sitting on Wednesday mornings for

backbench debates, and not sitting for ten Fridays a year -- in addition

to the normal breaks.

The Government also is to try to avoid late sittings, wherever

possible.