Part of Orders of the Day – in the House of Commons at 12:31 pm on 25 January 2007.
Joan Ryan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
12:31,
25 January 2007
Let me say to Mr. Grieve that, as I have explained, new Clause 1 is merely a simple transitional provision to cater for the possibility that section 43 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, as amended by the Bill, might come into force before new section 51B of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, which is referred to in section 43(1)(b). Until section 51B is in force, reference will be made to section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1987. I do not propose to go into the details of that Act, because that legislation is not before us and I fear to stray into areas that are not the subject of today's debate. I have assured the hon. Gentleman—and I repeat that assurance—that the Government are committed to ensuring that cases are dealt with as efficiently as possible, and discussions are continuing about how best to achieve that. We aim to make an announcement in due course. I am assured that the two sections are almost identical. The differences are only in terminology and procedure, and are not relevant to the Bill. Both sections are about the prosecution giving notice of transfer in serious and complex fraud cases.
Simon Hughes makes interesting points about a wider debate that is worth having. If Members are concerned about delay, they might be interested to learn that in Committee it was proposed that we delay implementation by two years, and I understand that an Amendment was tabled for today's debate—although it has not been selected—suggesting that we delay implementation by four years. Therefore, Opposition Members seem to have adopted a slightly contradictory position in that, although they are concerned about delay, some of them have also proposed delay.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause read a Second time, and added to the Bill
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.
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 Opposition are the political parties in the House of Commons other than the largest or Government party. They are called the Opposition because they sit on the benches opposite the Government in the House of Commons Chamber. The largest of the Opposition parties is known as Her Majesty's Opposition. The role of the Official Opposition is to question and scrutinise the work of Government. The Opposition often votes against the Government. In a sense the Official Opposition is the "Government in waiting".
