Lord Fox:

Tabled by Lord Fox

5: After Clause 9, insert the following new Clause—“Debate on provisions of this ActWithin six months of this Act coming into force, a Minister of the Crown must, in both Houses of Parliament, table a motion for debate on the continuing necessity of the provisions contained in this Act.”

My Lords, I would just like to say a few words. I first thank the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, for his kind words—which I had not expected—but, mostly, I thank the Government Front Bench, in particular the Chief Whip, for the constructive discussions that we have had, which enabled the Minister to say the things that we hoped she would say. The point is that we understand the need for flexibility, but we also understand the need for parliamentary scrutiny. I hope that, between us, we have got to that point, thanks to the flexibility and the scrutiny that we have had over the past few hours.

Amendment 5 not moved.

Clause 10 agreed.

House resumed. Bill reported without amendment.