Part of Ways and Means. – in the House of Commons at on 1 October 1941.
Mr George Garro-Jones
, Aberdeen North
I took occasion on the Second Reading of this Bill to draw the attention of the learned Attorney-General to this novel principle and to ask him to be good enough to look into it on grounds of equity, and I now support what has been said by my hon. Friend on grounds of common sense. It will be utterly impossible for any person who prepares any of these legal documents to prove to any court what his expectations were. This Sub-section is really only stultifying the language of the Act and the other common sense provisions in it. The Bill will be no worse, indeed will be greatly improved, if this provision is left out. It has given rise to a good deal of alarm among people who are in the habit of preparing legal documents—estate agents, chartered accountants and people of no professional qualifications at all. The restriction upon them still remains, and if they do receive a fee or reward for preparing these legal documents then they can be proceeded against under the Act as it stands without this Sub-section. I hope this obnoxious Sub-section can be left out.
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.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
The Second Reading is the most important stage for a Bill. It is when the main purpose of a Bill is discussed and voted on. If the Bill passes it moves on to the Committee Stage. Further information can be obtained from factsheet L1 on the UK Parliament website.
