Legislation

Mr. Amess
To ask the Leader of the House (1) how many copies of the Draft Legislative Programme 2008-09 have been provided gratis; to whom; at what cost; and if she will make a statement;

(2) what provision is in place for the amendment of the Draft Legislative Programme 2008-09 following consultation; and if she will make a statement;

(3) whether any Bills were (a) changed and (b) dropped from the legislative programme following consultation on the Draft Legislative Programme 2007-08; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Goodman
A total of 2,000 copies of the Draft Legislative Programme were provided gratis to all Members of both Houses and key stakeholders at a cost of approximately £24,000. A full 12-week consultation period on the draft programme is in progress until 6 August after which we will respond in the autumn and comments made will be taken into account in considering the content of the next Queen's Speech. The changes from the DLP and the final programme are a matter of public record and are set out on pages 7-8 of the Government's Draft Legislative Programme—Taking a Wider View (Cm 7248) which was published in November.