Clause 1 - Power to give effect to revisions of the international arrangements relating to compensation for oil pollution from ships
Merchant Shipping (Pollution) Bill [Lords]
Public Bill Committees, 7 February 2006, 10:45 am
Julian Brazier (Shadow Minister, Transport; Canterbury, Conservative)
I am grateful to the Minister for being generous in giving way, as he always is. However, the assurance he is giving is not quite the one that we need in order to not press the matter to a Division. There is one crucial question. Is he telling us that parliamentary counsel says that such offences will not fall within the scope of the Bill? Unless he can give us that assurance, there will still seem to be no reason for not accepting our amendment, which would prevent any future Government—there might be a Minister who is less sympathetic and knowledgeable on the subject than he—from introducing such offences.