Clause 35 - Changes in Olympic procedure
Horserace Betting and Olympic Lottery Bill
10:15 am
Mr Nick Hawkins (Surrey Heath, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 69, in
clause 35, page 20, line 1, at end insert—
'(2A) Any such order shall be subject to the Affirmative Resolution procedure of each House of Parliament.'.
The clause states:
''The Secretary of State may by order make such provision as he thinks necessary or expedient in consequence of a change effected after the passing of this Act in the arrangements made by the International Olympic Committee in relation to the Games of the Olympiad.''
We believe that such a wide power should be exercised only on the basis of an affirmative resolution of the House of Commons. It is vital, even if the IOC changes things and the Secretary of State wants to make a change, that such matters come before the House for scrutiny. I have already mentioned, and the Minister has acknowledged, that the shadow of the dome and
its awful precedent hang ever before us when dealing with this area of government. We therefore need to ensure that there is parliamentary scrutiny, and requiring the affirmative resolution procedure would help a great deal.