Part of Proceeds of Crime Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 4:30 pm on 6 December 2001.
Ian Davidson
Labour/Co-operative, Glasgow Pollok
4:30,
6 December 2001
I really do not know why the Chairman allowed you to speak on this subject. You seem to be belabouring the point about Scottishness that the hon. Member for Beaconsfield made so much work of earlier. The fact that the Scottish legal system was written so strongly into the Act of Union is one of the earliest and best examples of the self-interest of the Scottish lawyers who determine public policy. That is not necessarily something to be commended.
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.
