As the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Mr. Bennett) said, the order was laid on 17 December. We would like to have laid it before the House earlier, but as he will probably know, negotiations on the single market continued until late last year, into December. That meant that we were unable to lay the order as early as we would wish. However, as soon as we could, we laid all the orders and others involving the single market, as we were anxious for them to be known about and in operation as soon as possible—on 1 January where possible.

The issue that gave rise to the worries of the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments is—as I said, and as the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish acknowledged—a small and highly technical point on legislative drafting, about which there is room for disagreement. Had it been a significant issue that went to the heart of the order, I would have hesitated to lay it before the House until the matter had been cleared up. However, I thought that it was a highly technical issue. If it turns out to be necessary for us to correct it, we shall do so. Obviously, I hope that it is not—it is an abstruse point.

The right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) spoke of the possibilities of confusion under the new arrangements. Any such major change is likely to cause problems for the public, and we have also had to carry out training for the customs officials and others to ensure that the new arrangements are understood. It will take some time for the public to take them on board.

We have produced and, I think, sent to hon. Members, a small guide for travellers that has been widely distributed on aircraft and by travel agents. It assists people with the changes. It is intended for the ordinary reader and does not go into nearly as much detail as the order on matters such as what one can bring to the UK after marriage, which is not necessary in such a leaflet. If the right hon. Gentleman or anyone else finds the categories listed in the order mystifying, I can assure them that, I think without exception, they are the same as before. They are almost identical to the previous categories. Most of us do not have cause to use the provisions at any time in our lives, let alone regularly, and I do not think that the measures will cause too much difficulty.

The right hon. Gentleman and the hon. Member for Oxford, East (Mr. Smith) drew attention to the staffing considerations that will arise. The remarks of the hon. Member for Oxford, East went much further than the review, and I cannot confirm his figures off the cuff. Clearly, considerable differences have been required in the deployment of staff by customs. I can readily undertake to keep matters under the closest review, particularly in the early stages of the single market— indeed, we are already doing so. As I have told the House before, we are determined to ensure that smuggling, bootlegging and the resale of goods brought back without UK duty having been paid are pursued with the utmost vigour of the law by all the customs officers that it requires.