Part of Clause 2 – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 20 December 1973.
Mr Michael Cocks
, Bristol South
12:00,
20 December 1973
I beg to move, Amendment No. 23, in page 4, line 4. leave out subsection (7) and insert—
'(7) All resolutions passed before 1st July 1974 shall be binding on the council'.
This is a probing amendment. I have wrestled with this subsection (7). I have done my best with it. In the subsection in the Bill there is not a full stop in nine lines of print, until the end. We are trying to encourage interest in local government and legislation, and the words that I have suggested as a substitute might meet the case. I should like to hear the Minister's comments on the matter.
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.
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.
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.
