Clause 17 - Determination by Registrar
Hunting Bill
8:55 am
Mr Andrew George (St Ives, Liberal Democrat)
I am sorry that I missed the first couple of sentences of the Minister's explanation of the Government amendments. Clearly they are the result of our debate at the end of Tuesday afternoon's sitting. I congratulate the Minister and his Department on tabling the amendments, which he promised he would do to reflect the points that I had made on the amendments to which I spoke on Tuesday afternoon. I am sure that he and his officials, having trawled through the legislation, have ensured that the Bill covers all other appropriate Acts.
I simply ask whether there is a need for a further amendment that takes into account the possibility of further Acts of Parliament which at this stage are difficult to predict, but which may be a material consideration for the registrar in the future. If clause 17 is to work appropriately and is not to contain a
catch-all provision—my original amendment, amendment No. 252, was perhaps too broad—perhaps the Minister will consider at a future date an amendment that takes into account the prospect of other legislative change that is relevant to disqualification.
I believe that we have made significant progress and I am grateful to the Minister.