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Driving Instruction (Suspension and Exemption Powers) Bill

I will come to Northern Ireland, although I wanted to leave it to the very end. Since the hon. Gentleman has pressed me, I shall tell him now that the Bill does not cover Northern Ireland because it involves a devolved matter. It is as simple as that. The Bill strikes the right balance between the need to protect the public and the rights of individuals to go about their business and earn a living. It allows the registrar of approved driving instructors immediately to suspend those who pose a danger to the public and thereby prevents them from continuing to give paid instruction, but it also contains provisions that will safeguard instructors, and those seeking to become instructors, from improper use of the suspension powers. The Bill has received generous cross-party support and I hope that that will continue to be the case; I have no doubt that it will be. It addresses a genuine public concern in a proportionate and effective manner, and my congratulations go to the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife. I look forward to monitoring the Bill's progress and to seeing it become an Act.