Tax Credits Bill
10:30 am
Professor Steve Webb (Northavon, Liberal Democrat)
Thank you, Mr. Hood, and welcome to the Chair. This is the first time that I have had the privilege of serving under your chairmanship, and I hope it is the first of many.
On the programming resolution, two weeks is clearly an inadequate time in which to discuss the Bill. When I queried the two-week time allocation, I was told that the Bill was not contentious and that no one had voted against it on Second Reading. However, that does not mean that it is not a complicated Bill, and that proper scrutiny would not benefit the people who will receive the tax credits. That is regrettable.
When the House passed the programming resolution, which indicated that debate would finish on Thursday next week, it did not mention when debate would start. If hon. Members had realised that it would not start until two weeks before that date, they might have voted differently. However, those are the circumstances, and I shall not take up the Committee's time by saying that we do not have enough time. We should get on with it.
My only query about the programme motion is that the second cut-off point mentioned in paragraph (4) is 11.25 am on Thursday next week. We have told the Government that we are concerned that that gives us more time than we might need on the last clauses of the Bill, which, although worth while, are uncontentious, and less time on earlier, more contentious passages. I hope that we can keep that under review.