Part of the debate – in a Public Bill Committee am 9:25 am ar 22 Mawrth 2005.
May I, too, welcome you to the Chair, Mr. Griffiths? This is the first time that I have served on a Standing Committee under your chairmanship, and I very much look forward to it.
Unfortunately, I was unable to participate in the Second Reading debate, so I am grateful to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) for giving us a synopsis of the issues involved. As for the timetable motion, my party certainly takes the view that the time allotted is sufficient. The arguments have been rehearsed in the other place, and the Government have made significant movement on the main issue, which, for my party as well as for the Conservatives, remains the involvement of Parliament in the whole process. I see no reason why, with a bit of good will and effort on all parts, we should not complete the business within the time scale offered.