Part of Onshore Wind Turbines (Proximity of Habitation) – in the House of Commons at 9:30 pm on 3 November 2009.
Francis Maude
Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office)
9:30,
3 November 2009
There is no harm in making that designation more explicit, and giving it some teeth by entrenching it in statute.
There is, of course, already a provision enabling a permanent Secretary who feels that he or she is being required to do something that is not in the interests of the taxpayer to put in writing to the Secretary of State a request that he or she-the permanent secretary-be directed to implement the policy, but to my knowledge that has happened on only eight occasions in the past 12 years. It did not happen when tax credits were introduced. Arguably it should have, because it is understood that robust advice was given to the Chancellor to which he refused to listen. There is a strong case for saying that, given the circumstances, the chairman of the Revenue and the permanent secretary to the Treasury should have put in writing to the Chancellor that they needed to be directed, because their advice was that such action would be very harmful.
In the circumstances in which this country now finds itself, with a ballooning public debt and a budget deficit that seems to be out of control, incredible care with taxpayers' money will be of central importance in the years that lie ahead. It seems to us really important that protection for civil servants against being required to do things that are not in the interests of taxpayers should be entrenched. We think that Ministers should have a statutory obligation to respect the impartiality of civil servants. We have a good deal of sympathy with a Liberal Democrat new Clause, which we hope will be reached later. In the meantime, however, this Amendment-which reflects the central importance for the whole Executive of respecting and acting in the interests of taxpayers-would provide an extremely valuable additional discipline. As I have said, it would provide protection for civil servants against being bullied into implementing policies that were not in the interests of the taxpayer.
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.
A Permanent Secretary is a top civil servant- there is a permanent secretary in each Office/Dept./Ministry Permanent Secretaries are always Knights, (I.E. "Sir" or "Dame"). BBC Sitcom "Yes Minster" portrays Sir Humprey Appelby as a Permanent Secretary, steretypically spouting lots of red tape and bureacracy.
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 Chancellor - also known as "Chancellor of the Exchequer" is responsible as a Minister for the treasury, and for the country's economy. For Example, the Chancellor set taxes and tax rates. The Chancellor is the only MP allowed to drink Alcohol in the House of Commons; s/he is permitted an alcoholic drink while delivering the budget.
