asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in his review of the proposals in the Cork committee report; and whether he will make a statement.

Insolvency law generally has been under detailed scrutiny following publication of the report of the Insolvency Law Review Committee. Sir Kenneth Cork's committee has produced a thorough and weighty report. It deserves the most careful consideration. I am giving it high priority, but it is inevitably a lengthy process.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the reform of insolvency law is urgently required, particularly by small creditors, to redress the balance against the preferential creditors such as the state, that is the Inland Revenue and the local authorities—[HON. MEMBERS: "Reading."]—the banks, with their floating charges—[HON. MEMBERS: "Reading."]—

Put it down.

Order. These interruptions are unfair on a new Member.

I thank you, Mr. Speaker, for your protection. Is my right hon. Friend also aware that a reform of insolvency law is urgently required, not only according to the Ministerial Statements prior to the General Election, but according to insolvency practitioners and Sir Kenneth Cork?

That was a maiden speech.

My hon. Friend is right. When I arrived back at the Department of Trade after two years away in another guise, I found a number of old friends waiting for me, including insolvency law reform. I accept that this matter is urgent. The present arrangements are quite unsatisfactory. There is scope for the unscrupulous to exploit them, and I assure my hon. Friend that we wish to see reform carried out urgently.

Is the Secretary of State aware that his reply will be viewed with great disappointment by many small firms that are hit by the inadequacies of current insolvency law? It is now more than a year since this report was published and three months since one of his predecessors promised the House urgent action. Will he therefore get his finger out?

Order. I do not think that last remark is on the proscribed list, but it is in rather bad taste.

I did not think that in the party of the Simon Pure expressions such as that were allowed. The hon. Gentleman had better watch himself or he may get expelled.

This is an urgent and complex matter. The Cork report is a huge, weighty document, and it took a huge committee a long time to produce it. We want to get on with this, but I cannot promise the hon. Gentleman very early action.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that many of us fear that civil servants in his Department have been dragging their feet on this issue? His answer will therefore give us considerable comfort. Will he also bear in mind that one of the advantages of changes in the insolvency law will be that companies which would otherwise go to court and out of business will be more likely to survive, thereby saving jobs?

My hon. Friend the Minister responsible for corporate affairs has a special hatred of people who drag their feet. He is committed to getting on with urgent work on this difficult matter, and my hon. Friend has given yet another example of just how unsatisfactory the present arrangements are.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the attitude of the Minister responsible for corporate affairs is on the whole to do nothing and to leave this to voluntary action? On the protection of creditors, investors, depositors and so on, his Department has earned the reputation of being weak, sloppy, slow and self-indulgent. The Government have a duty to protect and advance the commercial law. We therefore want to see action on Cork and other such matters as rapidly as possible, so that we can end a long series of scandals and inequities in the commercial community.

I thought that this was an occasion to question the Government, not to reminisce about one's days in a sloppy, slothful, useless Department, which was how the hon. Gentleman spent his days in the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection—

You pathetic creature.

My hon. Friend has been in office for just six weeks. He is getting on, as a matter of urgency, with some extremely important work. He has some interesting ideas on how we can make progress, but the hon. Gentleman should wait and see. He will get a very pleasant surprise.