It is an honour to be able to close the Second Reading debate on the Bill. When I first looked at the Order Paper and saw that we had six and a half hours in which to debate a Bill consisting of four clauses, I quailed slightly and my heart sank for a second, but I put it to the House that tonight has been an absolute triumph. I have enjoyed every speech: it has been simply marvellous.
My hon. Friend the Member for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock (Bill Grant) cited, in the context of a number of maiden speeches, the maiden who seduced Robbie Burns himself, and, moreover, mentioned Burns’s famous poem “To a Mouse”, which, as the House will know, begins—I will not do the accent—
“Wee, sleekit, cowran, tim’rous beastie,
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!”
I was tempted to think that none of the new Members could count as a
“sleekit, cowran, tim’rous beastie”
and that the panic was likely to be in the Labour breastie. Therefore, it has been a delight. It has been less a parliamentary debate than an episode of “Britain’s Got Talent”, with dazzling speeches and new voices—especially, may I say with delight, Scottish voices from my side of the House, a rare and delightful occurrence. We have lost great colleagues across the House, but this evening has brought home to us what absolute legends we have received instead.
We have had an extremely useful debate and I warmly thank all those who have taken part, including the many Members on both sides of the House who have made their maiden speeches. As the debate has made clear, this is not a Bill that is politically charged or partisan. We are collectively seeking to act in the interest of the UK businesses that sell holidays, and in particular in the interest of the travelling public who wish to enjoy
those holidays free of care. This may not be the largest of Bills when measured in terms of the number of its clauses, but it is a very large Bill when measured by its potential to bring peace of mind to people in every constituency throughout the UK.
That reassurance is what the ATOL scheme was originally created to provide, when it was set up in 1973. Today, not only does it help to prevent rogue traders from entering the market, but it provides important protection to consumers in the event that their travel organiser should fail. It has provided effective protection to consumers for over 40 years and it is well regarded both by those who use it and by the travel sector itself.
Consumer protection is an important pillar of the holiday sector owing to the nature of the market. Holidays are frequently booked and paid for many months in advance of travel, and the consumer may often be unaware of the financial stability, or instability, of their holiday providers. The impacts from the failure of a travel company can be grievous. Consumers may face a serious financial loss from not receiving a refund, or from the cost of having to make alternative arrangements to get home. Even worse, they may experience the trauma, heartache and sheer inconvenience of a cancelled holiday, or of being stranded abroad without accommodation or a ticket back.