Schedule 6
Commons Bill [Lords]
3:45 pm
James Paice (Shadow Minister (Agriculture & Rural Affairs), Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; South East Cambridgeshire, Conservative)
Mr. Weir, I am not going to try to emulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border, not least because I am not as generous as he is with other people’s money—or with my own. However, I entirely endorse the remarks that the Minister has made, and add my thanks to him and his officials for the way in which they have conducted themselves not only in Committee but prior to the Bill’s coming to Committee. They have been more than open to discussions about how we might handle matters. I am grateful, particularly, for the way in which the Minister has responded—in most cases—to amendments that we have proposed and to the issues that have arisen from them. He promised to go away and consider a number of matters, but he agreed to consult openly on three: possible alterations to the register; the name of the statutory bodies; and developments that are already under way. I look forward to those discussions.
I understand that we will not debate this Bill on Report next week or the week after, so we have a reasonable amount of time. However, I am sure that the Minister will want to ensure that before we reach that stage we continue to deal with the issues, as my right hon. Friend said, in a non-partisan way so as to get it as right as possible, because we will not be the ones—nor, probably, will our immediate successors—who are asked to address the matter again. I am particularly grateful to the Minister for the attitude that he has taken, and to you, Mr. Weir, and to Miss Begg.