Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill
10:30 am
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden, Conservative)
This is the first time that I have served under your chairmanship, Mr. Malins, and I look forward to doing so. I was encouraged by the expedite way in which you dealt with the Programming Sub-Committee yesterday. I am also grateful that the knives have not been stuck in the board for this Bill. On Second Reading, I used my experience as a Whip to point out that sometimes it is not altogether helpful to set mileposts for a Bill, as it can lead to inadequate scrutiny of some parts of the measure. It is helpful that the Government have not placed those in the programme of what is a relatively short Bill. That will facilitate better scrutiny.
I place on record that it is always good that exchanges on the way in which a Bill is to be conducted should be as transparent as possible. If we had a record of yesterday's programming motion it would be so short, possibly only one or two lines, that it would be apparent to all colleagues in the House that the matter can be dealt with simply and transparently. I am still of the opinion that such things should be recorded so that this change in the way that we work is transparent and can be thought through by others affected by changes in the workings of the House. Its very brevity makes the point.
However, I wonder whether this procedure is a marked improvement on the way in which we did things in the past, which was not materially different. A target date was agreed and, in my experience, it was always met. The Government have decided to proceed in this way. It would be good if the procedure were recorded, but I am glad that you dealt with it so swiftly, Mr. Malins.