Legislative Reform

I have listened to both Front Benchers and have heard much common sense, with the exception of the observations that the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare (John Penrose) made about the newspaper industry. We have to be practical and say that, in these difficult times, we should ensure that creditors are supported. As much as I—like all hon. Members—am a great fan of my local press, I think that supporting creditors should be our focus. I see that the hon. Gentleman agrees with that observation, and I agree with him about the need for post-legislative scrutiny of measures such as this one. I wish to place on record my thanks to the Clerks and other staff who support my Committee. They have to cope with an extraordinarily varied pattern of work, on many different subjects, to very tight timetables, as established by the Standing Orders of the Committee. I also thank my hon. Friends who serve on the Committee, on both sides of the House, although—regrettably—no Conservatives take up their positions. If we are to have a constructive dialogue on these important issues, I would welcome the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare if he were to relinquish his Front Bench role and join us. Perhaps he prefers to remain where he is. The consultation on this order elicited some 16 written responses, most of which were favourable. As one would expect, the bodies that raised objections included the Newspaper Society and the Association of Business Recovery Professionals, but the latter withdrew its objection when it realised that professionals would be given the flexibility to make judgments about the most suitable method of advertising given the nature of the business being put into liquidation. We understood that. There is no issue of substance between the Committee and the Government on the need to save money and I shall illustrate that shortly by citing some figures from a real case in my constituency. I have discussed the case with lawyers who are experts in insolvency, and they are horrified by the figures involved. The text of what became paragraph 3 of the final report was put on the record in my Chairman's draft report:""In light of widespread concerns about existing insolvency procedure, including the fees structure, and given the potential volume of changes anticipated from the Insolvency Service"—" taking into account the effect of the current economic situation—""we are surprised at the narrow focus of the draft Order."" With hindsight, it was regrettable that there was not greater clarity in the communication between Officers of the House and the Department on the broader strategic approach that is envisaged. I am led to believe that a miscellaneous provisions order for insolvency legislative reform is likely to appear in early April, according to information received by my Clerks this morning. Perhaps that answers one of the questions that the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare quite reasonably posed. With hindsight, it is a pity that we did not have a clearer picture. We asked for a legal opinion on whether we could be assured that the money saved by the proposal would end up in the hands of creditors. The answer that we received was, "Not necessarily." That is why it is very important that the House takes note of the Minister's words in my earlier exchange with him. The Minister expects the money to end up in the hands of creditors and there can be no reason why an insolvency practitioner should hold on to the money rather than pass it on to the creditors.