Parliamentary Standards Bill

My Lords, I had intended to say much the same thing as the noble Lord, Lord Norton of Louth, in the Bill do now pass debate, but perhaps it would be more convenient to the House if I said something briefly now. Whatever criticism there may have been recently of Parliament, politicians and us in this House as well as Members of the other place, we should take some credit for the way in which this House has handled the Bill. Certainly we should give credit to the Leader of the House and her ministerial colleagues, who have done a very good job. While those of us who have been concerned about the fast-track procedure have complained about it, we cannot complain about the way in which she and her colleagues have sought to make the minimum of difficulty out of that considerable fast track. After all, the amendment was put together only earlier this evening. It has been with us for at least long enough for us to consider it carefully, and we should give full credit for that. We should also through the Leader of the House give our grateful thanks to her support team in the Box and to the Public Bill Office of this House. They have done a remarkable job. Perhaps we should also thank the computers. In the days before computers, the process that we have been able to handle at such speed today would surely have been impossible. All the staff of the House at this time of the year deserve our grateful thanks for the way in which a difficult situation has been faced. We have certainly greatly improved this legislation as a result.