– in a Public Bill Committee at on 10 December 2002.
Mr John McWilliam
Labour, Blaydon
10:32,
10 December 2002
I apologise to the Committee for being late. My street is being dug up and there is a five-minute detour to get here, but no one warned us.
Jacqui Smith
Minister of State, Department of Health, Minister of State (Department of Health)
I beg to move,
That—
(1) During proceedings on the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Bill the Standing Committee shall meet four times, namely on Tuesday 10th December at 10.30 am and 4.30 pm, and on Thursday 12th December at 8.55 am and 2.30 pm
(2) Proceedings on the Bill in Standing Committee shall, so far as not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion in accordance with the following table—
TABLE
Proceedings
Conclusion of proceedings
Clauses 1 to 3
1.00 pm on 10th December
Clauses 4 and 5
7.00 pm on 10th December
Clauses 6 to 11
11.25 am on 12th December
Clauses 12 to 16, new Clauses, new Schedules and any remaining proceedings
5.00 pm on 12th December
I welcome you to the Chair, Mr. McWilliam, and to this Committee; I also welcome all other hon. Members. At the moment, that is all I wish to say.
Simon Burns
Shadow Spokesperson (Health)
I join the Minister in welcoming you, Mr. McWilliam, and your co-Chairman Mr. Conway, to the Chair, to preside over our proceedings for the two sitting days of this Committee. I place on record the fact that, on principle, the Opposition have always opposed the idea of guillotine motions, as they stifle the opportunity for debate not only in Committee but in the House.
Question put and agreed to.
Mr John McWilliam
Labour, Blaydon
Starred amendments will not be accepted, so any amendments should be tabled in good time. There is a money resolution, copies of which are available. I do not intend to call any manuscript amendments either.Clause 1 Meaning of ''NHS body'' and ''qualifying hospital patient''
In a normal session there are up to ten standing committees on bills. Each has a chair and from 16 to 50 members. Standing committee members on bills are appointed afresh for each new bill by the Committee of Selection which is required to take account of the composition of the House of Commons (ie. party proportions) as well as the qualification of members to be nominated. The committees are chaired by a member of the Chairmen's Panel (whose members are appointed by the Speaker). In standing committees the Chairman has much the same function as the Speaker in the House of Commons. Like the Speaker, a chairman votes only in the event of a tie, and then usually in accordance with precedent. The committees consider each bill clause by clause and may make amendments. There are no standing committees in the House of Lords.
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.
The Opposition are the political parties in the House of Commons other than the largest or Government party. They are called the Opposition because they sit on the benches opposite the Government in the House of Commons Chamber. The largest of the Opposition parties is known as Her Majesty's Opposition. The role of the Official Opposition is to question and scrutinise the work of Government. The Opposition often votes against the Government. In a sense the Official Opposition is the "Government in waiting".
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.
