Financial Assistance Scheme (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2008

I am grateful to the Minister for his clear and comprehensive introduction to these extremely technical but very important regulations, and indeed to the noble Lord, Lord Taylor of Holbeach, for reminding us of the long and tortuous history that has led to them being prepared. I think I can say that I feel fortunate not to have had to take part in all the debates in the past five years that finally led to the Statement on 17 December 2007. We on these Benches felt, as did the noble Lord, Lord Taylor, that the Government took a very long time to reach a sensible position. They have finally done so. The regulations and their provisions are long overdue, so we welcome them.