Clause 2
Crown Employment (Nationality) Bill
9:31 am
Gillian Merron (Parliamentary Secretary (the East Midlands), Cabinet Office; Lincoln, Labour)
The Government support the clause, and I thank Committee members for the full debate in our last sitting. A number of specific points were mentioned on which I should like to comment. I hope that my responses will assist the Committee in lending its support to the clause.
We have discussed the provision in clause 2 that will allow parliamentary scrutiny of ministerial decisions. To pick up on a point made by the hon. Member for Wellingborough, who is not in his place today, the Bill as drafted would not require that rules be subject to some form of parliamentary scrutiny. Furthermore, the European Communities (Employment in the Civil Service) Order 2007 sets out the categories of post that will be reserved for UK nationals, and as an Order in Council it was subject to parliamentary approval.
There is therefore merit in the argument that any new rules should likewise be subject to parliamentary scrutiny. I shall, of course, consult the relevant Departments and security agencies, but I assure the Committee that as the Bill progresses to Report, I shall reflect seriously on a point that was very well made.
I am also happy to consider the suggestion to clarify clause 2, which allows a Minister of the Crown to delegate the power to make rules to any person or body. Let me explain why that provision was included in the first place and then give the Committee some assurances. The Bill will apply to the Crown in all its capacities, and it will extend to employees of the royal household, which means that if the Crown wished to reserve certain posts in the royal household for UK nationals, under the terms of the Bill a delegation to do so would need to be provided by a Minister of the Crown.
As we all know, the security of the royal household is paramount, and with that in mind the current designation of “any person or body” was included in the Bill in the case of the royal household to allow a Minister of the Crown to delegate the powers to make rules to, for example, the Lord Chamberlain, who is one of the chief officers of the royal household in the UK. Having said that, I assure the Committee that I agree that it would helpful to clarify that reference, and I will be happy to do so as the Bill progresses.