Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

It would have been as much of an honour as being Home Secretary, but I will not proceed down that road. It would have been a wonderful honour to be Northern Ireland Secretary and of course, had the Queen's shilling come my way in that respect, I would have accepted it. Finally, to answer the points raised by the hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills, I gather that Departments and other bodies release details of contracts on a regular basis in publication schemes. However, 30 years is necessary for a limited number of contracts that are long term. In any event, all we are doing, as with Northern Ireland matters, is maintaining the status quo—the current 30 years—which I do not think is a huge deal. For quite good reasons, the exemption will still be subject to the public interest test: it is a qualified exemption, not an absolute exemption. With those comprehensive and informed answers, I commend these provisions to the House. Question put and agreed to. New clause 22 accordingly read a Second time, and added to the Bill.