Parliamentary Standards Bill

Had my right hon. Friend not intervened on me, those two items would have been next on my list. Those thanks stand on the record; I shall not bother repeating them. However, those Committees have made a huge difference to informing the House and to the Bill's progress. As I said to the Secretary of State, there is a consensus among the vast majority of those in the House that putting out to an external authority the handling of Members' expenses, finances and salaries is a very necessary way to restore public confidence in this country's body politic. It was a crucial part of the Bill and a crucial reason for its urgency. However, the Bill expanded like Topsy and got into an awful muddle as the Government bolted on extra aspects that have had to be removed. That has made it much more unworkable, and means that it needs to be revisited and properly scrutinised. The Bill will go to the other place, which we hope will do a good job in trying to improve it, but putting the onus on the Government by introducing a sunset clause so that they knew the Bill had to be revisited would concentrate their mind. In the autumn we would be able to come forward again with the full scrutiny of effective legislation, fully worked out, so that we had a permanent solution that dealt with all the concerns that have been raised in this debate. I urge the Government, even at this late stage, to accept a sunset clause.