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Driving Instruction (Suspension and Exemption Powers) Bill [Money]

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. The provision for compensation for those who are suspended and then subsequently cleared will probably be in the region of £60,000 per annum, given that maybe five or six people a year will be in such a situation. Consideration has been given to others such as school bus drivers, where the balance to be struck must be different. A person who has even just been arrested for an offence is to be immediately suspended. While I can see why the measure under discussion might have been taken a step further, given that we are not talking about vulnerable children or vulnerable adults with problems such as those we often encounter in care homes I think we have got the balance right. In cases where people are arrested as a result of investigations such as Operation Orr, the forensic examination of computers often takes many months, and in such cases the appeal would be much more expensive. I am very pleased that we have managed to reach this stage, and I look forward to debating the matter further in Committee on Wednesday.