Christopher Chope (Christchurch, Conservative)

I hope that in the week that has elapsed since we last discussed the clause the Minister and the Bill’s promoter will have had the opportunity to reflect on the very pertinent points that were made during that previous debate. As you might recall, Mrs. Humble, I was going through the detail of the clause, explaining why I had substantial reservations about quite a lot of it.

The final point that I want to make relates to clause 2(4)(b), which says that the rules may include provision

“allowing any Minister or other person or body to grant exemptions.”

It seems to me that that is an extremely wide provision. I would have no objection if the rules allowed any Minister to grant exemptions, but even in this new world of legislating by delegated authority, to allow any person or body to grant them is a bridge too far. I hope that the promoter will be able to give me an undertaking that the provision will have been modified when we get to Report, so that it is less wide-ranging.

That brings us to subsection (5), which is purely informative, and on which I do not think that I need trouble the Committee. Before I finish, I should like to note the power of the membership of the Council of Europe. You may have noticed, Mrs. Humble, that one of the members of the parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe has been promoted to acting Parliamentary Private Secretary, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead on that.

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