Food Standards Act 1999 (c. 28)

Part of Orders of the Day — Government Resources and Accounts Bill – in the House of Commons at 7:21 am on 29 February 2000.

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Photo of Mr Tim Collins Mr Tim Collins Conservative, Westmorland and Lonsdale 7:21, 29 February 2000

It is axiomatic that the central purpose of this place is to hold the Executive to account, principally on public expenditure. Therefore, as has been widely said in the debate, the Bill is important. I agree with my hon. Friends that, on balance, it improves matters rather than making them worse.

However, I wonder whether, even with the Bill, we have set the highest standards that should apply. The standards of accounting in the public sector should be clearly and demonstrably higher than those applying in the private sector. If we deal with private sector companies, we almost always do so by choice, as a voluntary act, whereas when we deal with public expenditure, we deal with moneys that are gathered by compulsion, with the perceived threat that refusal to pay for that public expenditure could lead to prison or to the full sanction of the law, and ultimately force, being deployed.

I have some concerns that even though the Bill has been improved during its passage through the House, it falls short of the highest standards that we might expect of it.

I welcome the fact that, in his speech on Third Reading, the Chief Secretary referred to his intention to revolutionise the arrangements that he had inherited and which date back to the time to Gladstone. This Administration, with Lord Jenkins as their ideological mentor, usually favour perpetuating anything to do with the regime of Mr. Gladstone.

We have seen that across the board the Government are following the Gladstonian example, slashing defence expenditure, undermining the integrity of the United Kingdom, pursuing a botched foreign policy, and radicalising for the sake of it. I welcome anything that results in moving away from Gladstonian principles. [Laughter.]

I notice that the Liberal Democrats laugh at that. I note that the example given by the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr. Davey) of the last time that the House rebelled against outrageous Government expenditure occurred the last time that we had a Liberal Prime Minister. Perhaps that is a coincidence, perhaps not.