Clause 38
Commons Bill [Lords]
10:00 am
David Drew (Stroud, Labour)
I concur with the hon. Gentleman on the last thing he said about amendment No. 56, which makes a lot of sense. However, I am concerned about amendments Nos. 54 and 55. If things are only referred to as permanent—through the Secretary of State or his representative—it prompts the question of whether anything temporary will be allowed to exist for a significant period. All hon. Members can provide instances of something that was agreed to on a pro tem basis, but became effectively permanent because action was never taken.
I urge the Minister to clarify what is meant by the words “temporary” and “permanent”, if that is possible. Also, I urge him to withstand the honeyed words of the hon. Member for South-East Cambridgeshire, as there are some dangers in laying down something that would make it difficult to intervene when clearly there has been a problem.