Part of Police (Northern Ireland) Bill [Lords] – in a Public Bill Committee at 4:45 pm on 27 February 2003.
Jane Kennedy
Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office
4:45,
27 February 2003
The hon. Member for Wycombe is right in describing the effect of the Clause. It does exactly what he describes, but only provided that there is a Majority of those involved in the decision present and voting. The changes introduced by the clause set a more realistic and appropriate threshold, notwithstanding the comments of my right hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool. With the greatest respect to the concerns of hon. Members, I believe that their fears are overblown.
The clause does not give any board member or group a licence to force through unpopular or unrepresentative decisions. It responds to a genuine feeling among some board members that the existing arrangements set too high a threshold and it provides a prospect—no more than that—that a group that perceived that it was a minority might at least have an opportunity to seek to initiate an inquiry if the circumstances warranted it. I hope that the Committee will give the clause a fair wind.
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.
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.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
