May I first apologise, like Mrs. May, for the fact that because I will be attending the funeral of my good friend and doughty parliamentarian, Gwyneth Dunwoody, I will be unable to remain in my place for the conclusion of these questions I will leave the business statement in the competent hands of the Deputy Leader of the House.

Following the publication of last year's draft legislative programme on 11 July 2007, the Government published in November a summary of the consultation carried out and the comments received in "The Government's Draft Legislative Programme— Taking a Wider View". As Leader of the House, I contributed to the Modernisation Committee's inquiry on the draft legislative programme. That Committee reported in January 2008, and the outcomes from those exercises have informed the consultation process for this year's draft legislative programme, which will be published shortly.