Clause 21 - Scope of emergency regulations
Civil Contingencies Bill
5:15 pm
Ms Fiona Mactaggart (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Race Equality, Community Policy and Civil Renewal), Home Office; Slough, Labour)
If it is of assistance to the Committee, the Government will, of course, expect Parliament to sit. That is fundamental to the Bill. We do not wish to have a situation in which Parliament is not engaged and the Government are not accountable to Parliament. This is an urgent mechanism to deal with an emergency, but it constantly provides for accountability and for fixing limits on what the Executive might do. Accountability is, and will remain, to Parliament, even though it is circumscribed in order to be able to produce emergency responses, which might require a short procedure. It is clear: the whole construct of this enabling Bill is that the regulations must be considered by Parliament. They should be considered by affirmative resolution of both Houses, and the Government would expect Parliament to be able to fulfil its functions.