Perhaps I may reply to the Minister. I thank everyone who has taken part in the debate. Although there is Clause 21, I was speaking only to Clause 20, which creates a certain difficulty because it is about the creation of the CMA. I asked a specific question: why did the Government choose to form the CMA instead of simply giving additional powers to the OFT? Does this new body amount to anything more than a change in the name of the OFT? With great respect to my noble friend, I did not get an answer to that question.
I quite understand that if you start to debate Clause 20, you are inevitably drawn into the things that are being done by Clause 21 and other parts of the Bill. On the question of whether I am against the structural change, I am here to be convinced—this is Committee. As my noble friend quite correctly said, at Second Reading I cast great doubt over whether this structural change was sensible; I am here to be convinced—or not—and we will see what happens.
One way in which my noble friend tried to convince me—indeed, so did my noble friend on the Front Bench—was through the “slowest” argument. There are plenty of time limits in the 2002 and 1998 Acts. It is not that the existing law does not provide time limits; it is just, it is said, that they have not been kept to. Nobody has explained why they have not been kept to. Understanding that is quite complicated. There are provisions for extensions and there are clever lawyers who are good at arguing for extensions. There is the European competition regime, which quite often can lead you into needing an extension. The regime of time limits is already in existence. I do not see why a statutory change to that regime is going to make any difference to what happens on the ground.
What happens on the ground depends upon the circumstances of each case, the behaviour of the participants in that case and the way in which the case is handled. It may well be that our regime should be quicker, and I would not dissent from that, but it does not need additional legislation. That is one argument that has been put forward as to why we need this institutional change, but I do not accept it. I quite accept that there may have to be competent discussions between professionals—round tables—in the light of the existing legislation and that things should be done in a more expeditious way. Indeed, in the 2002 Act there is a general duty to do everything as expeditiously as possible. I just think that it is another piece of make-believe to say that, if you write it into a law, it is going to happen.