Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill
10:30 am
Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield, Conservative)
I welcome all hon. Members to the first sitting of the Committee on the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill. I am totally confident that it will be a workmanlike, constructive and agreeable Committee throughout the whole of this stage of the Bill. I am a traditionalist but I also believe in comfort, so if, because of the temperature in the room or their own temperature, hon. Members wish to remove their jackets discreetly and to put them on the rear of their chair, I am happy for them to do so. Those are the domestic matters, as it were.
I remind the Committee that there is a money resolution in connection with the Bill. Copies are available in the Committee Room. I would like also to remind hon. Members that as a general rule adequate notice must be given of amendments. My co-Chairman, Janet Anderson, and I do not intend to call starred amendments.
Will hon. Members please ensure that mobile phones and all other electronic devices, pagers and so on are turned off or are put on silent mode? That is something that I personally feel strongly about.
We come first to the programme motion. Debate on the motion may continue for up to half an hour.