Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

On the question of the Ponsonby rule, it is, as the Minister says, frequently—invariably, in fact—the case that a short explanatory memorandum is made available to go with the deposit under the Ponsonby rule. However, he knows that since 2000 there has been an extension of the arrangements with respect to certain departmental Select Committees, the consequence of which is that the treaty is referred to the relevant Committee, too. Obviously, an explanatory memorandum would have to be made available with adequate information at that point in time. I think that I am largely agreeing with some of the things that the Minister is saying. There is a pattern of behaviour, but for the reasons that I gave earlier, it is essential that this measure should not be tied exclusively to the normal time of ratification, which comes at the end of the process in English constitutional law. We really need to ensure that we have the explanatory memorandum available at the time when it can be most and best used.