Given that the Treasury Minister is here—I understand that, although this is a private Member's Bill it has benefited from consultation with the Treasury—I shall mention the third piece of legislation so that you can tell me whether I am genuinely out of order, Mr. Stevenson. The third piece of legislation is an industrial and provident societies Bill. Can the Minister tell us whether this Bill anticipates that one, in which case it is important for the broad sweep of what we are dealing with, or whether the Bill is, as lawyers would say, sui generis? Does what we are dealing with have implications for something that is already in the legislative pipeline?

I hope that the Minister's ultimate reassurance will be forthcoming on that, because new clause 1(5)(a) contains a power to introduce regulations that ''impose criminal liability''. As all hon. Members know, it is one of our important duties to scrutinise legislation properly where we are imposing criminal liability on any person or entity. I should like the Minister to look carefully at what is intended by ''criminal liability''. Is that in line with current

companies law liabilities that the criminal law encompasses, or is something more imposed?