Clause 5 - Short title, commencement and extent
Criminal Defence Service Bill [Lords]
11:45 am
Bridget Prentice (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs; Lewisham East, Labour)
This is the first time I have taken a Bill through Committee in my present position, as opposed to that held by my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, West (Kevin Brennan), who has been magnificent in ensuring that the Committee completed its work in record time. I thank you, Mr. Conway, for the way you have conducted the Committee and yesterday's proceedings; as I said earlier, you allowed a certain informality and a wide-ranging debate, albeit in a fairly short time. I also want to thank your fellow Chairman, who, sadly, will not have the benefit of listening to our deliberations.
I also thank, on the Committee's behalf, the Committee's exceptional officials, who have ensured that we have been properly briefed. I know that they have been available to give advice and help to the Opposition where necessary. I thank, too, Opposition Members for the way in which they have conducted the debate on a Bill that will serve criminal justice well, and my hon. Friends, who have been dutiful as always and have contributed where necessary.
I am particularly grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, West for ensuring that the debate and the Bill have been organised appropriately. As I said earlier, the Bill fell by the wayside before the general election, and that has given us the opportunity to improve it. I am pleased to have been part of the Committee.