Law Commission Bill [Lords]

As an experienced parliamentarian, my hon. Friend will know that the title of Lord Chancellor is incorporated in statute, so the post cannot be abolished without legislation, as the Government found to their great embarrassment. That is why they got themselves into difficulty and decided that rather than test the will of both Houses they would climb down and retain the position of Lord Chancellor. Were they to want to do away with the post of Lord Chancellor, or if a future Conservative Government wanted to do so, which is unlikely, there would have to be legislation. One of the consequential amendments to such legislation would be to change the provisions of the Bill if it had by then become an Act of Parliament. I hope that clarifies the position for my hon. Friend. Ultimately, of course, the person who knows most about the Bill is its promoter, and I am delighted that she is in the Chamber eagerly awaiting the opportunity to respond to this brief debate on the amendments. Amendments 1 and 2 are straightforward. They introduce clarity and modest expedition. Amendment 3 would remove subsection (4) of clause 1, which states:""If a decision not to implement a Law Commission proposal (in whole or in part) is taken in a reporting year, subsection (1)(b) does not require a report for a later reporting year to deal with the proposal so far as it is covered by that decision."" If the subsection remained in the Bill, it would mean that once the Government—any Government—had decided not to implement a Law Commission recommendation, that would be the end of the matter. However, the significance of Law Commission recommendations is that often their wisdom becomes more apparent with the passage of time. We can see from the commission's most recent annual report that some of the recommendations that are still to be implemented date back many years, including on topics that have assumed new public concern and importance—for example, from the commission's report on cohabitation. I think the proposed process is rather bureaucratic, but if we are to have reports on the implementation of Law Commission proposals, we should deal with all the outstanding reports, including those on which no action has hitherto been taken. The reports should contain a useful compendium for members of the public, covering Law Commission recommendations that have not yet been implemented in law, in whole or in part. That would strengthen the purported purpose of the Bill.