Power to Give Financial Assistance

Part of Clause 50 – in the House of Commons at 6:30 pm on 14 June 1988.

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Photo of Mr Clive Soley Mr Clive Soley , Hammersmith 6:30, 14 June 1988

I can say exactly what I said to the Minister and he can confirm it. I said, "I have no problems about you getting the Bill by 10 o'clock or 12 o'clock." I have no problems. What the Minister still does not understand is the extent of the anger, not just in the Labour party but in the Liberal party and among Scottish and Welsh Members, and for good reason.

6.45 pm

Let me take the matter further. There then came the amazing additions. You will remember, Madam Deputy Speaker, that I put a motion to the House last Thursday asking for the new clauses to be referred back to the Committee, because by that time I had realised that what the Government were doing was more serious. When that was not accepted, I raised a point of order. I wrote a manuscript amendment, which is still on the Table, which asked that the new clauses which had not been considered in Committee should be sent to the Committee. I told the Minister that again today. I said, "If you do not want to give me another day, do it differently. Let the new clauses which did not go to Committee be sent to the Committee and I will accept that." That also was rejected.

I want to tell Conservative Members and the public the extent of the Government's proposed additions to the Bill. New clauses 26, 25 and 29 were added without any debate in Committee. They are extensive. Two new schedules on Wales were added without having gone through Committee. There were 12 pages of typed print on the Order Paper for those alone. I ask the Government and Conservative Members to think about what that implies.

In our parliamentary democracy a Bill is read the First time and then has a Second Reading before going into Committee. Hon. Members know that it goes into Committee for detailed consideration, not because the parties disagree on some parts of it but because there are unintended consequences with legislation from any party. We send Bills to Committee so that they may have a detailed analysis to prevent difficulties arising.

The new amendments propose a housing corporation for Wales, to which neither I nor my hon. Friends object, but I have every objection to something as big, powerful and effective as that being set up without being examined in Committee. In Committee not one member of the Government, nor an Opposition Front Bench Member, spoke for Wales. There was just one Back Bencher on each side to speak for Wales.

What else was in the new proposals? If we are talking about broken promises, I have much time to deal with what the hon. Member for Bristol, West (Mr. Waldegrave) has tried to do to improve the Bill. Some things have not been delivered. In Committee, the Minister said: On the hon. Gentleman's wider point, the next major occasion on which we shall debate what the Government have called the charter would be on Third Reading, because we have given clear assurances that we must have a much more detailed debate then, and it would be wrong if we did not." —[Official Report, Standing Committee G, 8 March 1988; c. 1493.] That was on the social landlords' charter. The Under-Secretary of State also said in Committee that it should be before the House on Report. The charter has still not been produced. It is one of the most important parts of the Bill, as every Minister has said, but no such thing exists.