My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The amendment drives a coach and horses through the Bill. Yes, of course it is right to clamp down on those who claim fraudulently, and the Bill will act as an
incentive for people not to do so, but the ultimate gain is that the money saved will go back into the pockets of those consumers who are currently being overcharged because of fraudulent claims. Like him, I intend that we legislate on all our manifesto commitments, this being one of them, which is why I support the Bill.
4.15 pm
I have been a member of the Transport Committee for the past three years, and we have been considering the cost of insurance. We had a joint session with the Petitions Committee because more than 100,000 petitioners asked us to consider insurance, and the points made today, particularly by my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill), the Chair of the Justice Committee, are right. We have to make sure that insurers actually pass on this payment, and we are fixing it with the insurance industry so that they do.
It is strange that some are saying that Conservative Members are in cahoots with the insurance industry, because I am regularly lobbied by the insurance industry.