State Pension Credit Bill [Lords]
10:30 am
Mr Ian McCartney (Minister for pensions, Department for Work and Pensions; Makerfield, Labour)
I beg to move,
That—
(1) during proceedings on the State Pension Credit Bill [Lords] the Standing Committee do meet when the House is sitting on Tuesdays at half-past Ten o'clock and at half-past Four o'clock and on Thursdays at half-past Nine o'clock and at half-past Two o'clock, except that on Tuesday 30th April 2002 the Committee shall not meet at half-past Ten o'clock;
(2) the proceedings to be taken on the sittings shall be as shown in the second column of the Table below and shall be taken in the order so shown;
(3) the proceedings which under paragraph (2) are to be taken on any sitting shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion at the time specified in the third column of the Table;
(4) paragraph (2) does not prevent proceedings being taken (in the order shown in the second column of the Table) on an earlier sitting than that provided for under paragraph (2) if previous proceedings have already been concluded.
TABLE Sitting Proceedings Time for conclusion of proceedings 1st Clauses 1 to 3 — 2nd Clauses 1 to 3 (so far as not previously concluded) — 3rd Clauses 1 to 3 (so far as not previously concluded) — 4th Clauses 1 to 3 (so far as not previously concluded) 5 p.m. 5th Clauses 4 to 14 — 6th Clauses 4 to 14 (so far as not previously concluded) 9.50 pm 7th Clauses 15 to 22, new Clauses, Schedules 1 to 3, new Schedules, remaining proceedings on the Bill - 8th Clauses 15 to 22, new Clauses, Schedules 1 to 3, new Schedules, remaining proceedings on the Bill (so far as not previously concluded) — 9th Clauses 15 to 22, new Clauses, Schedules 1 to 3, new Schedules, remaining proceedings on the Bill (so far as not previously concluded) 7 pm
I welcome you to the Chair, Mr. Griffiths, as I do your colleague, the hon. Member for Hexham (Mr. Atkinson), with whom I have had the pleasure of discussing many Bills in Committee over several years. You and I entered the House at the same time, and I assure you that my wild-boy days are over and that I
am an absolute statesman when it comes to debating matters in Committee. I will not cause you any problems—at least not those that are unnecessary to cause.
I thank the hon. Member for Daventry (Mr. Boswell) and other colleagues who were members of the Programming Sub-Committee for the efficient way in which the resolution was dealt with. To show the honest way in which such matters proceed, I gave an undertaking last night to members of the Sub-Committee to use my best endeavours through the usual channels if it were felt in later sittings that further time might be required.
I thought that I would help members of the Committee by sending a letter enclosing an explanation of clause 3 and the assessment of income periods. They have received the letter but not the enclosures, for which I apologise. However, I have now issued the background information. As the hon. Member for Daventry will know from our discussions of previous Bills, if I can help members of the Committee by issuing further information, I shall be more than happy to do so without, I hope, causing too much trouble to civil servants in the Department. I hope that the additional information about clause 3 and other issues will help members of the Committee in their consideration of the Bill.