Legislation (Hansard, 1 November 2000)

§ 5. Mr. Tony Baldry (Banbury)
What role she plays in the mechanism of preparing Government legislation. [133641]

§ The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr. Graham Stringer)
My right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office takes responsibility for legislation emanating from the Cabinet Office, and as a member of the Cabinet takes collective responsibility for the whole of the legislative programme.

§ Mr. Baldry
The Minister will be aware that we have not had a state opening of Parliament in December since 1921. The fact that we are to have a state opening in December this year is a consequence of too much legislation, too hastily drafted and too hastily rushed through the House. Who in the Cabinet has the responsibility for ensuring that this situation does not happen again and that legislation is properly drafted and properly considered?

§ Mr. Stringer
I thank the hon. Gentleman for the information about 1921. I was not aware of it. However, I was aware that in this Session the Government have introduced 41 Bills, in the 1981–82 Session the previous Conservative Government introduced 46 Bills in the 1985–86 Session they introduced 49 Bills. [Interruption.] It is not the number of Bills that is significant; it is the fact that the Conservative—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. The Minister must have a hearing.

§ Mr. Stringer
It is the fact that, in the other place, twice as many amendments have been passed with Conservative support against the Government as were passed against the Government when the Conservatives were in power.

§ Mr. Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire)
The Minister said that the Minister for the Cabinet Office is responsible for Bills emanating from the Cabinet Office. However, he may recall that the Queen's Speech a year ago said that legislation would be introduced to increase the effectiveness of the power to remove regulatory burdens.—[Official Report, 17 November 1999; Vol. 339, c. 5.] Will he therefore explain to the House why the only Cabinet Office Bill promised in the Queen's Speech has not materialised?

§ Mr. Stringer
As hon. Gentleman knows, in April this year the Regulatory Reform Bill was published. It has been the subject of intensive consultation, both with the Deregulation Committee in this House and the Delegated Powers and Deregulation Committee in the other place. The fact is that so many Bills have been stopped in the other place that, if we had introduced the Bill this Session, there would have been an even greater legislative logjam. The Government are committed to introducing the Bill at the earliest possible opportunity.

§ Mr. Lansley
The fact is that deregulation is not a sufficient priority for the Government. One of the Minister's responsibilities is to examine the burdens imposed by legislation. Can he explain why the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has reported that the costs to small businesses of implementing new legislation in the year to July 2000 was nearly double that of implementing new legislation in the preceding year? Not only are the Government increasing the burdens of regulation on business, but the rate at which those burdens are increasing has nearly doubled year on year. Can the Minister explain that?

§ Mr. Stringer
Improving the quality of regulation remains a Government priority. I have seen a number of statements emanating from the Federation of Small Businesses, the British Chambers of Commerce and the Conservative party and they have all massively confused the cost of administration with the actual cost of the policy. The Government make no apology for introducing the minimum wage; we make no apology for giving people—for the first time in many cases—the right to a holiday; and we make no apology for protecting people. We are committed to improving the quality of the regulatory framework.