Commencement and short title

I beg to move amendment 1, in clause 3, page 2, line 34, leave out subsection (3).

The amendment essentially gets rid of a highly technical amendment made in the House of Lords, which is now not necessary. It may have been passed in the Lords only as the result of an excess of caution.

I have a question about the commencement. Will the protocol be laid before Parliament before the Act is commenced?

I think that it falls mainly to me to respond to that. We are working on that, so we cannot give the hon. Gentleman an answer at the moment. I am happy to write to him and all members of the Committee as soon as we have one.

That is helpful.

Amendment agreed to.

Clause 3, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Question proposed, That the Chairman do report the Bill, as amended, to the House.

I thank all hon. Members for coming today and supporting the Bill. I would particularly like to thank the chief executive of the Law Commission, Mark Ormerod, who has held my hand over the past few days and kept me calm and breathing. I would also like to thank Sir Terence Etherton, the chair of the Law Commission, who is as ever lively, interested and like a dog with a bone on this issue. I thank everyone for giving up their time this morning to support this small but perfectly formed Bill.

Question put and agreed to.

Bill, as amended, accordingly to be reported.

Committee rose.