Clause 29 - Procedure
Civil Contingencies Bill
4:30 pm
Mr Richard Allan (Shadow Spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, Cabinet Office; Sheffield, Hallam, Liberal Democrat)
The Government deserve to be congratulated on this point, which was raised effectively by Liberty and Justice during consultation before the Joint Committee. The Government conceded that they wished to make changes, and they have done so in two steps. The first was to remove the provision that referred to treating the regulations as primary legislation, and the second was the explicit reference—clearly and neatly worded—to the fact that the regulations are not to be treated as primary legislation.
I am fascinated by the fact that the Minister said that the Government's rationale for including the provision that the regulations be treated as primary legislation in the draft Bill was ''to prompt discussion''. That is a delicate and nicely phrased way of putting it. It prompted not only discussion, but horrified responses. If that was the aim, the Minister succeeded. He delicately phrased the inclusion of a provision that rightly concerned many people. I congratulate the Government on responding positively to that concern and making this explicit revision to the Bill.