Part of Enterprise Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 6:15 pm on 23 April 2002.
Nigel Waterson
Conservative, Eastbourne
6:15,
23 April 2002
I beg to move Amendment No. 109, in page 135, line 22, leave out from '2002' to end of line 26.
It will be obvious from the wording of the amendment that my comments will be short. Clause 189 deals with the use of statements obtained under the Competition Act 1998. Such statements are obtained in what are in effect civil proceedings, and are used under legislation that introduces some serious criminal sanctions, as we debated at, perhaps, inordinate length. The clause entitles the prosecution to use statements obtained under the Competition Act 1998 if they are inconsistent or contain voluntary admissions. The prohibition on the use of those statements should be wider than it is, as the statements were obtained in civil proceedings and therefore in a more relaxed atmosphere than subsequent criminal proceedings. The CBI supports the amendment. Great care should be taken when evidence in statement form is cross-fertilised from civil proceedings to criminal proceedings, not least because one hopes that the people involved in the civil proceedings will be as open and co-operative as they can be. It is in the interests of the Under-Secretary, the OFT and the relevant authorities to accept the amendment, so that people can be as helpful as they want in giving prior statements in proceedings under the 1998 Act.
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.
