[Karen Buck in the Chair]

Good morning, everybody. Before we start, I will read out a few paragraphs about Committee arrangements. Some people are extremely familiar with all of this and a few are not, so just bear with me. As a general rule, I and my fellow Chair do not intend to call starred amendments, which have not been tabled with adequate notice. The required notice period in Public Bill Committees is three working days. Therefore amendments should be tabled by the rise of the House on Monday for consideration on Thursday, and by the rise of the House on Thursday for consideration on Tuesday.

Not everyone is familiar with the procedure of Public Bill Committees, so let me briefly explain how we will proceed. The selection list for today’s sitting, which is available in the room, shows how the amendments selected for debate have been grouped together for debate. Amendments grouped together are generally on the same or a similar and related issue. The Member who has put their name to the lead amendment in the group is called first. Other Members are then free to catch my eye in order to speak to the amendments in that group. A Member may speak more than once depending on the subjects under discussion.

At the end of the debate on a group of amendments, I will call the Member who moved the lead amendment again. Before they sit down, they will need to indicate whether they wish to withdraw the amendment or seek a decision. If any Member wishes to press any other amendments in the group to a Division, they will need to let me know. I will work on the assumption that the Government wish the Committee to reach a decision on all Government amendments.

Please note that decisions on amendments take place not in the order that they are debated, but in the order in which they appear on the amendment paper. Decisions on new clauses will therefore be taken at the conclusion of the line by line consideration of the Bill. Where it is not already indicated on the selection list, Mrs Main and I will use our discretion to decide whether to allow a separate stand part debate on individual clauses or individual schedules.

Clause stand part debates begin with the Chair proposing the Question, “That the clause stand part of the Bill.” There is no need for the Minister, or any other Member, to move that a clause stand part of the Bill. We now move to line by line consideration of the Bill.

Clause 1