Part of Extradition Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 2:30 pm on 16 January 2003.
Mr Nick Hawkins
Conservative, Surrey Heath
2:30,
16 January 2003
I am glad that I raised the issue in a short stand part debate. The Minister's response has been helpful, and it is useful to have these things on the record. Time may be saved, as the Minister has referred forward to Clause 171, and I intended to ask questions about the affirmative resolution procedure and what the Government had in mind when we reached that clause. Perhaps I will not need to do that now. Given that the Minister has raised the matter, and that there is a link between clause 157, clause 171 and the Secretary of State's powers, can the Minister say how soon he or the Government expect the codes of practice to be available? I am not trying to tie him down to a specific date, but it would be helpful if he could give us a rough idea.
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.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
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.
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.
