Part of Orders of the Day – in the House of Commons at 12:31 pm on 25 January 2007.
Dominic Grieve
Shadow Attorney General
12:31,
25 January 2007
The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. I have read the evidence, and it is compelling. The judiciary and the court system have been constantly overloaded, and that has its own knock-on consequences. However, I do not want to stray too far from the new Clause.
I hope that, if the Minister chooses to respond, she will explain in detail why it has proved so difficult to implement the procedure under section 51B of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998—1998!—supposedly brought into force by schedule 3 to the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to replace section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1987. I have to say that anyone listening to our proceedings on the first matter arising from this important Bill would be wholly mystified as to how the Government have got themselves into this particular tangle.
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.
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.
