Unfortunately, I was unable to take part in the debate on Second Reading so I am glad to be able to add a few words of welcome to the Bill now.

It is an important Bill. It is a pity that more hon. Members are not present, but those who have been involved with it have devoted a considerable amount of time and attention to it. It is a model of how Parliament at its best can work. Hon. Members who have widely differing political convictions have been determined to make a good piece of legislation even better and have brushed aside doctrinal differences and concentrated on the merits of the case.

The Bill will be far more than my right hon. Friend the Minister claimed for it. It is not a moderate measure but a landmark in heritage legislation. It will come to be regarded as such. I hope that, in 30 years' time, it will be regarded with the same respect as that which in 1953 set up the Historic Buildings Council which has served the nation extremely well. The new commission can go on from strength to strength.

I am immensely encouraged and fortified by the knowledge that, whatever happens, this Bill is unlikely to be deleted from the statute book. Indeed, it is more likely to be added to. That is tremendously important. I have always believed that the arts and heritage should never become a political football. They have not been under successive Governments and this Government's record in that respect is notable.

Three years ago, the National Heritage Memorial Fund, to which we have all properly paid tribute, was set up by Act of Parliament. We all played our part in making that Act better. However, without the initiative of the Government, that would not have happened. By putting this measure at the forefront of the Queen's Speech last year, the Government did the heritage and arts world a great service. It is a significant measure, and I wish it well. We now await with eager anticipation the names of the commissioners and we want to know where they will house themselves. We also wish the new museum structure, for which my right hon. Friend is so responsible, well. The Bill is a major landmark in heritage legislation and I believe that 5 May 1983 will be remembered not as the day of local elections but as the day when Parliament set its seal on a heritage Bill of incalculable worth.