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Terrorist Asset-Freezing (Temporary Provisions) Bill

Pre-legislative scrutiny requires us to consult widely with a broad group of people who will be affected by this legislation. We have every reason to believe that, given the speed of representation that has already been made and some of the important points that have been raised by your Lordships today, there are critical and complex issues here that require serious scrutiny. To pick up an observation from the noble Lord, Lord Elystan-Morgan, we should be careful not to put an unnecessary straitjacket on Parliament that would be inappropriate given the complexity of the issues and the need to give them close scrutiny. If we had put an earlier date on the sunset clause such as the end of April or the end of May, the predominant view expressed in the House is that we would be allowing inadequate time for scrutiny and that that ran the risk of legislation that had not been critically examined. Parliament would wish to see us strike a balance. We would like to be able to complete the process before 31 December and, with a fair wind, that is possible. The noble Lord, Lord Elystan-Morgan, is right in observing that we should not impose such a tight straitjacket that we would not permit Parliament sufficient time to carry out the necessary review.