Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 1:46 pm ar 24 Chwefror 1999.
Agreement in principle on the north-south bodies was reached by the parties on 18 December and that determination was approved by the Assembly on 15 February. We are now going through the negotiations and consultations on the particular legislation and the detail of that, which is why the Minister of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen (Mr. Murphy), is not with us today; he is taking part in those negotiations. The Government are doing everything that they can to ensure that all necessary preparations are put in hand, ready for 10 March. I trust that other parties will do the same.