Food Standards Act 1999 (c. 28)

Part of Orders of the Day — Government Resources and Accounts Bill – in the House of Commons at 7:40 am on 29 February 2000.

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Photo of Miss Melanie Johnson Miss Melanie Johnson Economic Secretary, HM Treasury 7:40, 29 February 2000

At 7.40 in the morning, I will be extremely brief, not least because, as my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has pointed out, the Opposition have kept us from our beds for 16 hours during a long debate of dubious quality. Much of it has been of dubious quality, although there were exceptions. [Interruption.] Some Opposition Members who are making noises have not been here all night. Indeed, they have not been here at all, so they had better be quiet. My right hon. Friend has pointed out to me that my remarks are all that stand between Members going home to their beds or to their business for the day, so I will be brief.

It is a privilege to bring to a close the House's deliberations on the Bill. I pay tribute, as my right hon. Friend has already generously done, to all those who have contributed to the Bill. I join him in his thanks. I would be the first to acknowledge that the scrutiny of the Bill has improved it, although tonight is not a good example. However, in general, the scrutiny has improved it. It was improved in the Standing Committee in particular.

The Bill's purpose is important. It is to put on a footing the way in which we use our capital, so that we can see how it is used and can account for it properly, as the private sector has done for probably hundreds of years—certainly for more than 100 years. It is important that we have made the change.

It is important to bring Partnerships UK into being, which will enable us to modernise our key public services and to ensure that, in the long term, the type of deal-making skills that are available temporarily only in the Treasury task force will be available to the public sector.

As several hon. Members have mentioned this evening and on earlier occasions—I mention in particular the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (Mr. Davis) and the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr. Davey)—the Bill is historic and heralds a revolution in many ways. They have both welcomed it in their own way and supported it.

It is important to note that the right hon. Gentleman, who is Chairman of the PAC, emphasised that he would vote for the Bill, were it to be put to a vote. He believes that it has merit and heralds a revolution. He has said that he is minded to join the committee that the Chief Secretary is setting up to review the audit and accountability issues on a wider basis.

What is probably most important about the Bill is that it will cause us to look properly again at the way we use public money in relation to public services, and at efficient and effective provision of those public services. It will cause us to look harder at the performance indicators that we use, at the way in which we assess whether we are making good use of that money, and at the way in which we decide what is important in achieving the outcomes that we set ourselves and in building policy making on evidence.

All those considerations are important. They have merited much of the discussion that we have given them. I am grateful to all Members who have contributed positively to those conclusions.

I will not detain anyone any further. I have to be elsewhere in a very short time. I commend the Bill to the House.