Horserace Betting and Olympic Lottery Bill

Mr Nick Hawkins (Surrey Heath, Conservative)

On a point of order, Mr. Illsley. I raise this not in a spirit of confrontation, but as a way of helping not only members of the Committee, but members of future Committees.

With the permission of my hon. Friend the Member for South-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Paice), I have been borrowing his copy of the regulatory impact assessment. I had hoped to get my own copy after we rose before lunch, thinking as one normally does, as either a Front Bencher or a Back Bencher, that I would be able to get one from the Vote Office in the Members' Lobby. When I spoke to the Clerk there, he said that the Vote Office had never had a copy of the regulatory impact assessment. I understand from my hon. Friend that he did not get his copy from the Vote Office either. I asked the Vote Office in the Members' Lobby to see whether it could get hold of one for me over lunchtime, but it was unable to do so.

I have raised with other members of the Chairmen's Panel who chair other Committees—including the hon. Member for Bootle (Mr. Benton), my right hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Mr. Forth) and the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mr. Griffiths)—the fact that Government papers are sometimes not in order. However, I have to be fair to the Minister and say that I have not really raised the matter in relation to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. That has normally been a problem with Home Office documents.

I stress that Members of Parliament should be able to rely on finding all the papers relating to a Bill. The regulatory impact assessment should be in the Vote Office, as well as the Bill and the explanatory notes, which have been available. The Clerks in the Vote Office told me that they have the regulatory impact assessments for most Bills, so this is an aberration. However, they also said that they rely entirely on Departments. Clearly, the Government have been able to put copies in the Library, but it is important that we have copies in the Vote Office.

I hope that you, Mr. Illsley, and other members of the Chairmen's Panel encourage Departments to ensure that, for all Bills, the Bill itself, the explanatory notes and the regulatory impact assessment are available together in the Vote Office in the Members' Lobby.

Mr Eric Illsley (Barnsley Central, Labour)

I take on board what the hon. Gentleman says. I am assured by the Government that the regulatory impact assessment was published, that copies were left in the Library and that it was published on the Department's website. I am not

sure why it has not been made available in the Vote Office, but I will investigate and try to give him better information when we next meet.