Clause 26 - Parliamentary scrutiny
Civil Contingencies Bill
4:15 pm
Mr Patrick Mercer (Newark, Conservative)
I shall start where I left off. The idea of the emergency powers committee is to act as a check and balance and to be a sounding board for the Government in times of great emergency. Above all else, it should assist the Government in a balanced way, but quickly.
My experience of our discussions so far is that any idea that is intended to assist the Government with fresh thinking or any form of initiative, and which is practical rather than semantic, falls on deaf ears. I am sure that that will not be the case with this amendment as it is both practical and democratically important. I am extraordinarily optimistic that the Minister will acquiesce.