– in a Public Bill Committee at on 5 February 2002.
Roger Gale
Vice-Chair, Conservative Party
4:30,
5 February 2002
I remind the Committee that this Chairman takes the view that we can have a stand part debate at the beginning of a Clause's consideration or at the end, but not both. If I judge that the clause has been satisfactorily debated during discussion of the Amendment, I shall not permit a stand part debate.Clause 5 Winding up of ofcom on abandonment etc. of proposals
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.
Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services.
Ofcom Web Site http://www.ofcom.org.uk
