Mr David Lammy (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs; Tottenham, Labour)

I beg to move amendment No. 70, in

clause 29, page 13, line 13, leave out subsection (2).

A privilege amendment is required where a Lords Bill contains provisions that deal with charges on the people or on public funds. Since 1972, this House has generally proceeded with a Lords Bill that would have as its main objective the alteration of or, as in this case, the imposition of a charge upon the people or public funds, provided it contained the standard formula that no such charge is imposed or altered and that a Minister of the Crown takes charge of it in the Commons. The standard formula is incorporated into the Bill before it leaves the Lords to avoid the formal infringement of the Commons' privileges. Hon. Members will see that the privilege amendment negates the financial consequences of the Bill and thereby demonstrates that the ability of another place to legislate on such matters is not absolute but is, quite properly, subject to the tolerance of this House. [Hon. Members: ''Hear, hear.''] I see all members of the Committee nodding in agreement.

The provision that, but for the privilege amendments, would have the effect of creating or altering a charge has now been authorised by the money resolution, which was agreed to immediately after Second Reading. Therefore the privilege amendment may safely be removed. As hon. Members will recognise, this is a purely technical and formal process, and I hope that the Committee will accept the amendment.

Amendment agreed to.

Clause 29, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

New Clause 1Marriage between transsexual persons