---

Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill

In view of an issue that arose earlier today during a debate on another part of the Bill, I should confess that my party voted with the Government in support of Clause 3 in the House of Commons. Largely as a result of the very detailed studies done by the relevant two Select Committeesin your Lordships’ House, we too have learnt that Clause 3 was not the right answer, although it appeared to be so at that stage. I am most grateful to the noble Baroness for explaining the line which she intends to take on this matter. It seems that, to a large extent, she, the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, and I are all singing from the same hymn sheet on this issue. For that reason I hope very much that it will be possible to come up with an acceptable group of amendments. However, I also recognise the force of what the noble Lord, Lord Norton of Louth, said—that it may be necessary to seek at any rate a brief recommitment to consider the amendments that will be forthcoming. However, I certainly look forward to a successful outcome that will enable something to be achieved which all of us have sought for a long time; namely, the speeding up of the way in which Law Commission Bills are treated. I am well aware that every chairman of the Law Commission ever since it was invented has been seriously concerned about this. The recently published report of the Law Commission for 2005 reports, as I think almost all previous reports have done, a long list of its uncompleted work because the Bills are in limbo. In view of what is likely to happen in a few minutes, I certainly do not expect to have to bring the amendment back. All that remains for me to do is to beg leave to withdraw my amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. [Amendments Nos. 41 to 47 not moved.] Clause 3 negatived.