Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 9:30 pm on 10 September 2003.
Lord Roper
Liberal Democrat Lords Chief Whip
9:30,
10 September 2003
From these Benches we have already welcomed the Government's imaginative decision to ensure that the nationals of the states which accede next year will have freedom of movement into the UK. This is something of a gamble but we believe it is an intelligent one which will benefit this country. Quite clearly though, as the Minister has indicated and the noble Lord, Lord Howell of Guildford has suggested, things could go wrong. Therefore we understand why the Government put forward a safeguard.
I am not sure how the monitoring to which the noble Lord referred would be undertaken given the flow of people across the boundaries of the European Union after accession. I am not sure what sort of statistical information the Government will get as to flows from the new member states. It may be that the Minister can tell us something about that today or will write to us to give us some indication to enable us to think about this before we return at Report.
I wish to commend the Minister and our own Delegated Powers Committee on the way in which the interaction between the committee and the Government in the last few months has led to this Amendment. It is to the credit of the House, to its committee and to the Government that we have been able to find a solution which has ensured a safeguard but which has also ensured that a proper measure of parliamentary control shall remain. That is why I have great pleasure in supporting this important amendment.
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.
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.
