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Draft Legislative Programme

As the right hon. Lady knows, it is important for us to see whether we can give enough time on the Floor of the House to Bills that a number of hon. Members want to speak about. From time to time, that has been done, but I understand that there are proposals that the process should be more systematic and routine. Obviously, those will have to be considered. I said that if a Bill is not in the draft programme, that does not mean that it will not come forward in the future, and nor does the draft legislative programme substitute for, or cut across, more detailed consultations on Bills that will be led by the Departments concerned. I am a firm believer that the more open the debate, the better the final outcome, and it is in that spirit that we have published the draft legislative programme. I am grateful to the Liaison Committee for agreeing to give detailed scrutiny of this legislative programme. I and the Secretary of State for Justice are to give evidence to them in October. There will be public consultation meetings in each region, facilitated by the Government offices in the region, and the Cabinet Office will co-ordinate that consultation process.