Let me begin, a little sooner than I had planned, by saying that I am absolutely delighted that this Bill is now going to be supported across the House. It is worth reflecting on the journey that we have made, because, as the hon. Member for Stockton North (Alex Cunningham) rightly said, concerns were raised, first on Second Reading but also in the other place, but we have now got to the point where the Labour and Lib Dem amendments were withdrawn in the other place and this Bill will now receive cross-party support. In getting to this point, their lordships recognised, in the words of Lord Pannick, that “substantial and constructive” amendments had been made by the Government. We did so because we recognise that the issues we are addressing here, when it comes to the constitutional balance in our country, are ones that merit proper and careful consideration. But the imperative for this was in fact laid bare in the points made by the hon. Member for City of Chester (Christian Matheson), who is no longer in his place—[ Interruption. ] He is back, as if by magic. He asked whether there would be different treatment for British citizens in different parts of the world. That is precisely what the Bill is all about. It is to try to reduce those differences. If we had no private international law agreements, that is exactly the situation we would increasingly find ourselves in. Because we are now better able to implement them, we are better able to provide that certainty and clarity which are in the interests of our constituents and their businesses, whether they manufacture widgets or any other products.
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The Bill recognises that we will now be able to have the seamless re-implementation into British domestic law of the three Hague conventions named in clause 1 —Hague 1996, 2005 and 2007—and it will also allow for the timely implementation of the 2007 Lugano convention. I respectfully say to the hon. Member for East Lothian (Kenny MacAskill) of the SNP, who is no longer in his place: the whole point is that we want to go beyond Lugano and this provides us with the ability to do so. It will do so not as a rubber-stamping exercise —not a bit of it. There is proper parliamentary scrutiny, first through the CRaG procedure and, secondly, through the affirmative statutory instrument procedure.
On the points that the hon. Gentleman made about consultation, the consultations will, as required by the statute, take place before there is any attempt to extend the power or to implement any agreement. They will be tailored and proportionate, but there will be complete transparency about what has taken place. A thorough and detailed explanation will be provided to Parliament on who we have consulted, and a fair and balanced summary of the views expressed within the explanatory memorandum that accompanies any statutory instrument made under the power.
That is the right thing to do. That is what is set out in the statute and we have now got to a place where I can say, I commend the Bill to the House.
Question put and agreed to .
R emaining Lords amendments agreed to.