Part of Ways and Means. – in the House of Commons at on 1 October 1941.
Mr Donald Somervell
, Crewe
Any provision which even appears to shift the onus of proof should, of course, receive very careful scrutiny in this Committee, and after the speech of my hon. Friend the Member for North Aberdeen (Mr. Garro Jones) on Second Reading I carefully looked into this question. He was then, I think, under a misapprehension. He referred, for example, to wills, but this provision does not apply in such a case.
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.
