Clause 47 - E-conveyancing
Finance Bill
2:30 pm
Ivan Lewis (Economic Secretary, HM Treasury; Bury South, Labour)
The hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) said from a sedentary position that draft regulations have become the bane of our collective lives. I suspect that he is right, because when his party was in government it did not produce any draft regulations alongside the Finance Bill; perhaps we could learn some lessons from that approach. However, this is a far more transparent and open Government, as Opposition Members will be glad to concur.
My point to my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, South-West and the hon. Member for Rayleigh (Mr. Francois) is that it is absolutely guaranteed that there will be proper and appropriate consultation on the regulations. If we do not have the understanding and support of the profession, the system will not work. It is therefore very much in our interest to consult properly over a reasonable period, and to seek agreement. Now that I have placed that assurance on the record, I hope that the hon. Member for Rayleigh will withdraw the amendment.