Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill – in the House of Commons at 6:59 pm on 24 February 2021.
Matt Warman
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
6:59,
24 February 2021
I beg to move, That this House disagrees with Lords Amendment 1.
Rosie Winterton
Deputy Speaker (First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means)
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:
Government amendments (a) and (b) in lieu of Lords Amendment 1.
Lords amendment 2.
Lords amendment 3, and Government motion to disagree.
Matt Warman
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
At the time of the Bill’s Second Reading in the House in early January 2020, it would have been impossible for any of us to foresee the challenges that this country would endure over the following 12 months.
Throughout the pandemic and the lockdowns, this nation’s telecommunications network has provided information and enabled education; it has allowed businesses to operate, children to continue to learn and those in isolation to continue to speak with their families. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the UK’s digital infrastructure providers, our internet service providers and our mobile network operators. They have stepped up and worked with us to bridge gaps in provision, be that through whitelisting websites, providing data to struggling families or connecting the Nightingale hospitals. They have done Herculean work, and we should all be grateful.
Proceedings interrupted (
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.
The Second Reading is the most important stage for a Bill. It is when the main purpose of a Bill is discussed and voted on. If the Bill passes it moves on to the Committee Stage. Further information can be obtained from factsheet L1 on the UK Parliament website.
