– in the House of Commons at on 6 December 1939.
Motion made, and Question proposed,
That, for the purposes of any Act of the present Session to continue certain expiring laws, it is expedient to authorise—
Mr Jack Lawson
, Chester-le-Street
The Committee will have noticed that in the Financial Resolution the Special Areas (Amendment) Act, 1937, is specifically mentioned. That, of course, was not the case in the original Financial Resolution, neither is the Special Areas Act actually in the Expiring Laws Continuance Bill. I rise to say that we appreciate the fact that there is now an understanding that the Special Areas Act shall be included in the Bill in its Committee stage, and I understand that the Minister of Labour will probably be in a position to give a definite promise to that effect, as there was some dissatisfaction on this matter. It is not our desire to cause any debate on the subject, but rather to express satisfaction at the understanding that the Special Areas Act will be included in the Bill and will, therefore, live for another year, with a prospect of doing its proper work during the coming year.
Mr Ernest Brown
, Leith
This Resolution shows that the way is now open for the putting down of an Amendment, as the hon. Gentleman said, to include the Special Areas (Amendment) Act, 1937, and the Government will put down such an Amendment for the Committee stage.
Laws are the rules by which a country is governed. Britain has a long history of law making and the laws of this country can be divided into three types:- 1) Statute Laws are the laws that have been made by Parliament. 2) Case Law is law that has been established from cases tried in the courts - the laws arise from test cases. The result of the test case creates a precedent on which future cases are judged. 3) Common Law is a part of English Law, which has not come from Parliament. It consists of rules of law which have developed from customs or judgements made in courts over hundreds of years. For example until 1861 Parliament had never passed a law saying that murder was an offence. From the earliest times courts had judged that murder was a crime so there was no need to make a law.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
Laws are the rules by which a country is governed. Britain has a long history of law making and the laws of this country can be divided into three types:- 1) Statute Laws are the laws that have been made by Parliament. 2) Case Law is law that has been established from cases tried in the courts - the laws arise from test cases. The result of the test case creates a precedent on which future cases are judged. 3) Common Law is a part of English Law, which has not come from Parliament. It consists of rules of law which have developed from customs or judgements made in courts over hundreds of years. For example until 1861 Parliament had never passed a law saying that murder was an offence. From the earliest times courts had judged that murder was a crime so there was no need to make a law.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
