Clause 140
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill [Lords]
12:15 pm
Henry Bellingham (Shadow Minister, Constitutional Affairs; North West Norfolk, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 155, in clause 140, page 109, line 12, at end add—
‘(8) The Lord Chancellor must consult any interested parties before making an order under this section.’.
Clause 140 follows on from clause 139, which talks about the protected function of the Lord Chancellor. I am interested in subsection (1), where it says:
“The Lord Chancellor (or, in relation to Chapter 3 of Part 5 only, the Secretary of State)”.
Perhaps the Bill knows something we do not and anticipates the fact that the Lord Chancellor may be an extinct species at some stage in the future. I thought that the Lord Chancellor and the Secretary of State were one and the same person. It was in that light that we tabled the amendment.
Subsection (2) says:
“An order under this section may in particular”
and then gives details in paragraphs (a) and (b). Subsections (3) to (7) explain the orders in more depth. These are important orders. We feel that the Lord Chancellor should consult interested parties. There is nothing in the Bill to ensure that that consultation takes place. It might be obvious to the Minister and to other members of the Committee that the consultation with interested parties would take place in any event, but why not say so in the Bill to add the extra discipline that we believe is needed?