Mr Alun Michael (Minister of State (Rural Affairs), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Cardiff South & Penarth, Labour/Co-operative)

I beg to move,

That—

(1) the Committee recommends that the programme order [16th December] in relation to the Hunting Bill be amended as follows

In paragraph (2) of the order, for '13th February' substitute '27th February';

(2) the Order of the Committee [7th January] be amended as follows—

In paragraph (1), at the end, add '(except that the Committee shall not meet on Tuesday 18th February or Thursday 20th February)';

In paragraph (3), leave out '13th' and insert '27th'.

During previous sittings, hon. Members made it clear that they wanted further time to consider all aspects of the Bill. We discussed that in the Programming Sub-Committee following the adjournment of our previous sitting and it was felt sensible to make provision for the Committee to sit on Tuesday and Thursday following the short recess. Clearly, no one wants to encourage the Committee to sit beyond the necessary time to engage fully with all the issues that hon. Members wish to raise, but the proposal allows a considerable degree of flexibility to the Committee that I believe is welcomed by all those involved.

Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire, Conservative)

We very much welcome the Government's understanding. A great deal in the Bill remains to be discussed and we would not be able to do that today and on Thursday. We welcome the Minister's proposed two extra days in Committee and look forward to making good use of them.

Mr Andrew George (St Ives, Liberal Democrat)

I am grateful to the Minister for providing additional time and I hope that we shall focus on using the extra time efficiently. Some important debates remain and I am sure that with your guidance, Mr. Stevenson, we shall avoid unnecessary repetition of our debates. I look forward to using the extra available time.

Mr Paddy Tipping (Sherwood, Labour)

I welcome the motion and I hope that my right hon. Friend the Minister will be able to confirm my recollection that with the two extra days, the Committee stage will be substantially longer than any previous hunting Bill.

Alun Michael: I believe that my hon. Friend is correct

Question put and agreed to.

Schedule 1, as amended, agreed to.