Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill

Yes—I could list a number of items. I would like the House to consider giving my Committee or a successor body investigatory powers and the power to recommend to the Government areas in which they should act. The right hon. Gentleman has done private work in that respect on behalf of his Front Bench. Serious consideration should be given to whether, in future, my Committee or its successor should have investigatory powers, which it lacks under its current Standing Orders. In our everyday work, we all come across examples of regulation that cause us to ask why they are still on the statute book, or why they were put on to the statute book, whether by a Conservative or a Labour Administration. That matter should be examined in the context of the debate on the Standing Orders. I congratulate the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, South-East (Mr. McFadden), and his predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr. Murphy), on the sterling job they have done of getting us away from the rather odd debate in which the House found itself as a result of the Bill that emerged from Committee. Substantial progress has been made, although a few obstacles remain in the way of getting the legislation smoothly on to the statute book. I hope that during our proceedings today and tomorrow, Ministers will listen carefully to the serious points that are made, in particular by members of the four Select Committees, with a view to ensuring that the Government’s replies do not preclude further amendments, should they be necessary. However, I congratulate my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary on adopting the imaginative approach that new clause 19 and the associated amendments reflect. I hope that the new clause will have the support of the House.