Part of Sexual Offences Bill [Lords] – in a Public Bill Committee at 12:15 pm on 14 October 2003.
Dominic Grieve
Conservative, Beaconsfield
12:15,
14 October 2003
I am grateful to the Minister for his assurances and I shall not press the amendments. Perhaps I have a rather old-fashioned view. I am mindful of the fact that parents have responsibilities towards their children, but those do not historically tend towards acting as the agent of the police in ensuring compliance with criminal court sanctions, and having potential criminal penalties visited on them for non-co-operation. That makes me slightly uneasy. I accept the Minister's point that there is a reasonable excuse provision in Clause 92, but it still causes me some concern and I hope that the Minister can satisfy me on that.
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.
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.
