Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

The hon. Gentleman raises two points. I agree that having some sort of control over the negotiating of a treaty before it is signed is important. However, Parliament having control of ratification through a vote would be an important deterrent that would work its way backwards through the entire procedure. The hon. Gentleman's reference to the treaty of Dover raises in my mind another reason to ensure that there is an affirmative procedure in the Bill. One problem with the Treasury's alignment project, which he will have come across, is that future estimates will come to the House in net, not gross, form. The previous procedure of limiting a Department's income through the appropriation-in-aid procedure will be got rid of, which will mean that Departments can collect money from other places without parliamentary control and present Parliament with only the net amount that they require from us. The hon. Gentleman provides yet another reason for having the affirmative procedure, because we must maintain control over expenditure.