Orders of the Day – in the House of Commons at 5:45 pm on 11 June 2008.
Votes in this debate
'(1) Before making an order under section [Power to declare reserve power exercisable] the Secretary of State must obtain for the purposes of sections [Notification of chairmen of certain committees] and [Statement to be laid before Parliament] independent legal advice as to whether the Secretary of State can properly be satisfied of the matters mentioned in section [Statement to be laid before Parliament](2).
(2) "Independent legal advice" means advice from a lawyer other than a government lawyer.
(3) A "lawyer" means—
(a) as respects England and Wales, a person who, for the purposes of the Legal Services Act 2007, is an authorised person in relation to an activity which constitutes the exercise of a right of audience or the conduct of litigation (within the meaning of that Act);
(b) as respects Scotland, an advocate (whether in practice as such or employed to give legal advice), or a solicitor who holds a practising certificate;
(c) as respects Northern Ireland—
(i) a barrister (whether in practice as such or employed to give legal advice); or
(ii) a solicitor who holds a practising certificate.
(4) Until the commencement of the relevant provisions of the Legal Services Act 2007, the following is substituted for subsection (3)(a)—
"(a) as respects England and Wales—
(i) a barrister (whether in practice as such or employed to give legal advice);
(ii) a solicitor who holds a practising certificate; or
(iii) a person other than a barrister or solicitor who is an authorised advocate or authorised litigator (within the meaning of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990);".
(5) A "government lawyer" means a lawyer who holds, or has held, an office (other than judicial office) or employment under the Crown.
(6) If an order under section [Power to declare reserve power exercisable] is made the Secretary of State must lay before Parliament at the same time as the statement required by section [Statement to be laid before Parliament] a copy of the advice obtained under this section.
(7) If it appears to the Secretary of State that the advice contains material whose disclosure—
(a) would be damaging to the public interest, or
(b) might prejudice the prosecution of any person,
the duty of Secretary of State under subsection (6) is to lay before Parliament a copy of a version of the advice, provided by or agreed with the independent legal adviser, that does not contain such material.'.— [Mr. McNulty.]
Brought up, and read the First time.
Question put, That the clauses be added to the Bill:—
The House divided: Ayes 315, Noes 306.
Division number 219
Orders of the Day — New Clause 32 — Independent legal advice
Claire Ward
Government Whip
The Ayes to the right, 315. The Noes to the left, 306. [Interruption.]
Michael Martin
Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, Speaker of the House of Commons, Chair, Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
Order. [Interruption.] Order. Mr. Gale, I warn you. You are a member of the Chairmen's Panel, and you know full well that every hon. Member in the House has their own vote and their own conscience— [Interruption.] Order. And no one will ever censure a Member of Parliament on how they vote, especially one of their own. [Interruption.] Order. Let me do my job.
The Ayes to the right, 315. The Noes to the left, 306. The Ayes have it.
Question accordingly agreed to.
Clauses added to the Bill.
After Clause 21
Amendment made: No. 4, in page 16, line 17, leave out clause 22.— [Mr. McNulty.]
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.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The House of Commons votes by dividing. Those voting Aye (yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting no through the lobby to the left. In each of the lobbies there are desks occupied by Clerks who tick Members' names off division lists as they pass through. Then at the exit doors the Members are counted by two Members acting as tellers. The Speaker calls for a vote by announcing "Clear the Lobbies". In the House of Lords "Clear the Bar" is called. Division Bells ring throughout the building and the police direct all Strangers to leave the vicinity of the Members’ Lobby. They also walk through the public rooms of the House shouting "division". MPs have eight minutes to get to the Division Lobby before the doors are closed. Members make their way to the Chamber, where Whips are on hand to remind the uncertain which way, if any, their party is voting. Meanwhile the Clerks who will take the names of those voting have taken their place at the high tables with the alphabetical lists of MPs' names on which ticks are made to record the vote. When the tellers are ready the counting process begins - the recording of names by the Clerk and the counting of heads by the tellers. When both lobbies have been counted and the figures entered on a card this is given to the Speaker who reads the figures and announces "So the Ayes [or Noes] have it". In the House of Lords the process is the same except that the Lobbies are called the Contents Lobby and the Not Contents Lobby. Unlike many other legislatures, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have not adopted a mechanical or electronic means of voting. This was considered in 1998 but rejected. Divisions rarely take less than ten minutes and those where most Members are voting usually take about fifteen. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P9 at the UK Parliament site.
A Member of Parliament (MP) is elected by a particular area or constituency in Britain to represent them in the House of Commons. MPs divide their time between their constituency and the Houses of Parliament in London. Once elected it is an MP's job to represent all the people in his or her constituency. An MP can ask Government Ministers questions, speak about issues in the House of Commons and consider and propose new laws.
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.
