Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

The proposal relating to the advisory committee is certainly what we originally recommended. I think it was then suggested that there might be a more appropriate body at the time, and that the arrangement should therefore be left open. It was not a case of precluding what had been proposed originally; it was merely a case of leaving things open so that a decision could be made at the time. We considered the lifetime ban, along with various other options. The Treasury's advice was that a lifetime ban would be an infringement of human rights and was disproportionate, but also that it would deter younger applicants looking 10 years ahead who might feel that their options would be severely limited when they retired.