Henry Bellingham (Shadow Minister, Constitutional Affairs; North West Norfolk, Conservative)

We are now moving into an important part of the Bill, which relates to judicial review. I do not want to anticipate some amendments that I have tabled to clause 22, which I feel are very important, but I want to set the scene and to point out  to the Minister that judicial review is an important part of our jurisprudence and whole legal system.

Any student at the Bar or trainee solicitor is taught about judicial review from the earliest stage. It is a vital part of our law and this piece of the Bill has to be regarded in that context. Will the Minister say a bit more about how the judicial review process will work and give us a little more detail? How often does she expect it to be used? I do not want to go into the detail of what we will discuss on clause 18, where we will consider the limits of jurisdiction, but clause 15(1) sets out exactly what the power will be and what kinds of relief will be available under judicial review. I do not want to anticipate my amendments to clause 18, because they are the ones that we feel strongly about. However, all these clauses are of profound importance and I am anxious that we should not let them go by without some explanation from the Minister. I would be grateful if she could give that.

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