Clause 1 - Payment of Class 1 contributions: Great Britain
National Insurance Contributions and Statutory Payments Bill
9:30 am
Ms Dawn Primarolo (Paymaster General, HM Treasury; Bristol South, Labour)
I have been remiss, Sir John. Congratulations, by the way—I should study such things much more closely.
The regulations are still in draft form; more discussion is needed as they depend on other legislation. I take the point made by the hon. Member for North Norfolk, but those with the parliamentary skills necessary to draft our regulations are under a great deal of pressure, and it was a question of priorities.
I did my best to ensure that members of the Committee received the regulations before our first sitting, but the hon. Gentleman may remember that I undertook to ensure that the Committee had them before the Bill had completed its parliamentary proceedings. I do not wish to be churlish, and I did my best to ensure that the draft regulations were available in time, but given the nature of the work and the demands made on staff that is not always possible. If my officials had to draft only this Bill things would be so much easier, but I take the hon. Gentleman's point.