Clause 21 - Scope of emergency regulations
Civil Contingencies Bill
3:00 pm
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland), Northern Ireland Affairs; Orkney and Shetland, Liberal Democrat)
I beg to move amendment No. 100, in
clause 21, page 14, line 17, leave out
'or by the exercise of the Royal Prerogative'.
The amendment stands in my name and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. Allan). With the amendment, subsection (3) would read:
''Emergency regulations may make provision of any kind that could be made by Act of Parliament'',
followed by a list of what the regulations may do.
This is a probing amendment. We are interested to know the Government's thinking about the exercise of the royal prerogative as listed here. When one hears about the royal prerogative, one immediately thinks of the big matters that it is used for, such as declaration of war. Of course, it covers a multitude of sins. We are all aware of that. I wonder whether it is necessary to have it here. If it is a power that can be exercised by the royal prerogative, it does not need to be in the Bill. I do not see what the inclusion of those words adds to the Bill. We offer this as a probing amendment to discover what the Government think the inclusion of those words adds to the Bill.