Homes Bill
9:45 am
Mr Nigel Waterson (Eastbourne, Conservative)
On a point of order, Mr. Gale. It has started, by which I mean that Government amendments have started seeping on to the amendment paper. On more than one occasion, both in Committee and on the Floor of the House, I have mentioned my apprehension that the tabling of Government amendments may undermine the programme resolution. The Government have had an entire Parliament and—18 years before that—to think about the Bill. We have started the Committee stage, yet a raft of amendments appeared yesterday. I accept that a couple of them are drafting amendments, but some are more substantive and one or two are wholly incomprehensible to us, and bodies such as the Law Society.
I am putting down a marker. More amendments may be seen and, as we gauge the size of debate that they will generate, we reserve our right to raise the issue of reconvening the Programming Sub-Committee.