Part of Orders of the Day — Finance Bill – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 21 January 1975.
Mr Joel Barnett
, Heywood and Royton
12:00,
21 January 1975
We are constantly told that companies now have liquidity problems. We are affording relief to their liquidity problems this year. I have said that if we accepted the first group of amendments the cost of the substantial relief to be afforded would be considerable. The benefit could go to a considerable number of companies which are less deserving than those which are to be given relief for their liquidity problems under the terms of Clause 16. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will feel that what we have done under Clause 16, whilst not ideal, is probably better than the method he seeks to adopt.
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.
