Dan
Rogerson: I merely note that the type of people at the end
of the chain—the smaller contractors—are probably more
exposed and at risk than some of the larger businesses higher up. That
is the potential problem. Larger businesses may well be able to look at
the finances and absorb costs in a different way from some of the small
contractors at the bottom of the chain. For that reason, they deserve a
little more protection than they are currently afforded, so I shall
press the clause to a
vote. Question
put, That the clause be read a Second
time:— The
Committee divided: Ayes 6, Noes
8.
Division
No.
58] Question
accordingly negatived.
Ordered, That
certain written evidence already reported to the House be appended to
the proceedings of the Committee.—(Ms Rosie
Winterton.) Question
proposed, That the Chairman do report the Bill, as amended, to the
House.
Ms
Winterton: May I take this opportunity, Mr.
Illsley, to thank you and Mr. Amess for conducting
proceedings in Committee with firmness but fairness and
allowing a wide-ranging and probing debate. I also thank the
Clerk of the Committee, the Hansard reporters, the policemen,
the attendants and those who have witnessed our
proceedings—on some occasions, I know, spellbound by the quality
of the debate. I also thank my officials from the Department
for doing an excellent job in briefing two fairly new Ministers and, I
hope, in being helpful to other Committee members where
necessary. I
thank all members of the Committee, but particularly the Government
Whip, who has done an excellent job keeping us in order, and my hon.
Friend the Exchequer Secretary, who has stayed with us right until the
end. I want to say what a pleasure it has been working with
her—albeit for a rather shorter time than we perhaps had in mind
last week. There has been a great deal of expertise on the Committee.
We have been lucky to have a number of right hon. and hon. Members who
have either direct local government experience or experience as Local
Government Ministers. That has helped us to give proper scrutiny to the
Bill. As
well as thanking Labour Members, I want to thank the Opposition Front
Benchers for their probing amendments and debate. In the end, we have a
very good Bill that will empower people to shape their local
communities, help local and regional economies through the immediate
difficulties and create robust local, regional and national economies
for the future. Thank you, Mr. Illsley. I support the
proposal to report the Bill to the
House.
Mr.
Goodman: It would be wrong of the official Opposition not
to thank you, Mr. Illsley, and Mr. Amess for the
way in which you have chaired proceedings. We hope that you have
enjoyed them as much as the rest of us. It has been a somewhat
uncertain process: we have not always been certain at what time we will
start on Tuesday mornings; we have not always been certain whether
Ministers and Government Members would be able to make use of the lift,
but they have somehow managed; and we have not always been certain
which Minister we would find
here. The
new Exchequer Secretary must wake up each morning wondering which
Ministry she is in. The logical destination for her is the Foreign
Office, so that she can wake up wondering which country she is
in—like some former American Presidents. I thank the Minister
for Regional Economic Development and Co-ordination for the way in
which she has conducted herself during the proceedings. She has felt
her way into the Bill. We obviously do not think as much of it as she
does, and we will return to that theme on Report.
We have
enjoyed the contributions from the Liberal Democrats, with whom we
found we agreed on many occasions, although not always. We thank the
police and other
attendants. I
close by thanking those two stalwarts of the Committee, my right hon.
Friend the Member for Skipton and Ripon and the right hon. Member for
Greenwich and
Woolwich.
Mr.
Curry: The mastodons done
good!
Mr.
Goodman: It has been an education and a pleasure listening
to the mastodons on occasion. Without meaning to be impertinent, but
perhaps being a little less serious, if I were to wake up in the
morning and find myself reading in the public print that the two
intended to contract a civil partnership, I would not be altogether
surprised, although I would be surprised not to have received an
invitation.
Julia
Goldsworthy: It has been a pleasure to serve under your
chairmanship, Mr. Illsley, and that of Mr.
Amess. On
behalf of myself and my hon. Friend the Member for North Cornwall, I
thank the Ministers for taking on the brief so quickly and for handing
it on in the process of debating the Bill. I wonder whether there will
be any changes in the Ministers on Report. Who knows? I thank the
officials for giving the Ministers such inspiration so rapidly and for
responding to many of the queries that we
raised. We
pay tribute to the other hon. Members to whom we have had the
opportunity to listen. The hon. Member for Wycombe said that we agreed
in most part. However,
at no point did my hon. Friend the Member for North Cornwall or I feel
the need to confess to or suppress any Stalinist urges. We would
perhaps be better characterised by our Penhaligon roots in our
campaigning for Cornwall and the power of the
people. We
have had the opportunity to debate some of the many and varied issues
raised by the Bill. Some of our concerns have been satisfied, but there
is plenty of meat still to debate on
Report.
The
Chairman: I thank hon. Members for their comments, which I
will relate to my co-Chairman. I add my thanks to the Clerk, the
Hansard reporters, the attendants and the police for their
assistance to
me. Question
put and agreed
to. Bill,
as amended, accordingly to be
reported. 3.54
pm Committee
rose.
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