Civil Contingencies Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 4:45 pm on 29 January 2004.
Douglas Alexander
Minister of State (Cabinet Office) and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
4:45,
29 January 2004
I beg to move Amendment No. 66, in
Clause 14, page 9, line 37, at end insert–
'( ) A Minister of the Crown shall consult the Scottish Ministers before making an order under section 13(1)(a) adding an entry which relates wholly or partly to a person or body exercising functions in relation to Scotland.'.
John Butterfill
Conservative, Bournemouth West
With this it will be convenient to discuss Government amendments Nos. 67 to 70.
Douglas Alexander
Minister of State (Cabinet Office) and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
As the Committee will be aware, the Government, working closely with the devolved Administrations, seek to ensure that civil protection is offered in a coherent fashion throughout the UK. Clear and broad duties to consult will ensure that each regime is compatible with the others, and clauses 14 and 15 will achieve that. The amendments follow further discussions between the Government and the Scottish Executive. We have reconsidered the circumstances in which Scottish and UK Ministers should consult each other before exercising powers under part 1, and have concluded that the range of circumstances in which consultation is required should be extended.
Amendment No. 66 requires a Minister to consult with Scottish Ministers before adding a new responder with functions in Scotland. That reflects the existing obligation on a Minister, before we exercise other powers under part 1 in relation to responders that have functions in Scotland; currently, they are the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the British Transport police and the Health and Safety Executive.
Amendments Nos. 67 to 70 require Scottish Ministers to consult a Minister before exercising any powers under part 1. The current obligation to consult is limited to the exercise of particular powers and excludes certain responders. The combined effect of the amendments is to ensure that, while the UK Government and Scottish Executive have responsibilities in the Bill that reflect the devolution settlement, they will exercise those responsibilities in a consistent way.
Amendment agreed to.
Amendments made: No. 67, in
Clause 14, page 9, line 38, at end insert–
'(a) '.
No. 68, in
clause 14, page 9, line 40, after 'Part', insert '2 or'.
No. 69, in
clause 14, page 9, line 40, leave out
'other than paragraph 32 or 38'.
No. 70, in
clause 14, page 9, line 40, at end insert
', or
(b) an order under this Part.'.–[Mr. Alexander.]
Clause 14, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clauses 15 to 17 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
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.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
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.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
