Part of Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 5:15 pm on 1 February 2005.
Eric Forth
Conservative, Bromley and Chislehurst
5:15,
1 February 2005
It falls to me to add my thanks to my parliamentary colleagues for the way in which they have conducted the Committee. They have made it a pleasurable task for me and my colleague David Taylor to take the Chair. We are both very grateful. I add my thanks to our officers, the police, the badge messengers and the Hansard reporters for, as ever, giving us their support throughout the Committee.
May I also acknowledge the silent but professional presence of departmental officials who are a key to any Committee? They are often unsung and unrecognised, but I know how valuable they are and how much any Minister relies on them for their professional advice. Most of all I should like to thank our Clerk who has kindly but firmly guided me through the Committee and kept me more or less on the straight and narrow. For that I am very grateful.
Bill, as amended, to be reported.
Committee rose at eighteen minutes past Five o'clock.
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.
