I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.

I shall confine my remarks to expressing my gratitude, particularly to my fellow sponsor the hon. Member for Oxford, East (Mr. Norris), who is unavoidably delayed on parliamentary business overseas. He has been a tower of strength to me and his enthusiasm and skill have been a considerable asset to all the Bill's sponsors in their work. I also thank the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith), although he is not able to be present. His sage, philosophical advice has been of great assistance to me throughout the passage of the Bill. However, I must repeat that we all wished for a somewhat different outcome, but we are thankful for what we have.

It is remarkable that there is now such a wide measure of cross-party support for further progress to be made in this area and I hope that the Government will note that. More than 140 voluntary organisations have helped us to scrutinise the detail of the original legislation which received a Second Reading. I hope that the Government will make use of some of that work in future scrutiny of the regulations that will be spawned by the Bill.

I particularly want to mention the Freedom of Information Campaign and to thank its director, Mr. Maurice Frankle, for his dedication, knowledge and help during the Bill's passage. Certainly, I would be pounds lighter from worry if he had not been ever present at my side. As this is the first time I have had the privilege to introduce legislation, it would be churlish not to thank the House authorities and the staff of the Public Bill Office, especially Mr. Douglas Millar, for their courtesy and their inexhaustible patience with requests made by me as father of this private Member's Bill.

Last but not least, the Minister has had a difficult role, acting as an agent for other Departments and carrying the can. He strikes a hard bargain, but I have always found him to be fair. We were worried earlier that we might sink into mutual recrimination, but I am pleased to report that we have not ever even approached that.

The issue of public access to personal information will rightly continue to generate public interest and debate. The Bill is a worthwhile legislative step. It establishes the principle of access to manual files, which is of importance in itself. It is a small step in what remains a long journey towards a freer, more open society in all aspects of life in Britain today.