What recent representations she has received on increasing the time available on the Floor of the House and in Committee for hon. Members to scrutinise legislation.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that I gave some moments ago to the hon. Members for Shipley (Philip Davies) and for Isle of Wight (Mr. Turner).

Will the Minister address this matter seriously and urgently? Answers to written questions show that between 1997 and 2000, for each page of primary legislation, there were 14 minutes of debating time on the Floor of the House. In the three Sessions ending in 2006, that figure had halved to seven minutes. We need either to increase the amount of time we have to scrutinise legislation, or to introduce less but better legislation.

Averages are perhaps not the best way to look at this matter. I looked at recent Bill Committees, including the Equality Bill. It had six hours of debate on Second Reading, seven hours of evidence taking and 38 hours of scrutiny sessions in Committee-a total of 51 hours-and it will have further time on Report. Before that, there was extensive written consultation, which brought in 4,000 responses. It is an excellent Bill, and there has been a great deal of scrutiny.