Inquiries Bill [Lords] – in a Public Bill Committee at 4:00 pm on 22 March 2005.
Jonathan Djanogly
Shadow Minister (Home Affairs)
4:00,
22 March 2005
I beg to move Amendment No. 10, in Clause 12, page 5, line 17, leave out subsection (4) and insert—
‘In deciding whether or not it is in the public interest to appoint an assessor, the Chairman must have regard to the need—
(a)to ensure that the panel has available to it the necessary expertise to undertake the inquiry; and
(b)to avoid incurring unreasonable cost.’.
The Conservative peers originally proposed this amendment as they felt that the Bill placed too much stress on costs to the detriment of other factors such as expertise. The Government addressed this by removing the reference to costs and replacing it with the current reference to expertise. That was welcomed at the time by the Opposition. However, our amendment today underlines the need also to consider costs. This is not the most crucial amendment of the afternoon, but why should the subsection, which concerns the regard chairmen must have when appointing assessors, address only expertise or costs? Why can it not address both?
Chris Leslie
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Constitutional Affairs)
Subsection (4) of this Clause is very important, because it contains what is, in essence, a definition of the role of an assessor. An assessor is a person who has
“expertise that makes him a suitable person to provide assistance to the inquiry panel”.
If one removed that subsection, as the Amendment would do, the Bill would give no indication of the requirements for being an assessor. I am not, per se, opposed to either the Minister or the chairman considering the cost of appointing an assessor. I am sure both will do so. One of the main aims of the Bill is to enable inquiries to reach conclusions and make recommendations in reasonable time and at a reasonable cost.
The hon. Gentleman has already alluded to the fact that earlier drafts of this clause included a specific requirement obliging the chairman to have
“regard in particular to the cost” when appointing an assessor. But concerns were raised in the House of Lords that too much emphasis was placed on cost at the expense of other factors. An amendment identical to this one was proposed in its place, to include the balancing factor of a need for expertise, but my noble Friend Baroness Ashton found another satisfactory solution, which was to remove the subsection completely. That ensured that the chairman would still have to make a decision that took into account all the relevant factors, but that cost was not highlighted in particular.
I also have a concern about subsection (a) of the amendment, because it places an obligation on the chairman to ensure that the panel has the necessary expertise. Keen readers of the Bill will recall that clause 9(1)(a) already places that obligation firmly on the Minister. It would therefore be confusing to create a second explicit obligation and to place it on the chairman. For that reason, I ask the hon. Gentleman to withdraw his amendment.
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.
The Opposition are the political parties in the House of Commons other than the largest or Government party. They are called the Opposition because they sit on the benches opposite the Government in the House of Commons Chamber. The largest of the Opposition parties is known as Her Majesty's Opposition. The role of the Official Opposition is to question and scrutinise the work of Government. The Opposition often votes against the Government. In a sense the Official Opposition is the "Government in waiting".
The house of Lords is the upper chamber of the Houses of Parliament. It is filled with Lords (I.E. Lords, Dukes, Baron/esses, Earls, Marquis/esses, Viscounts, Count/esses, etc.) The Lords consider proposals from the EU or from the commons. They can then reject a bill, accept it, or make amendments. If a bill is rejected, the commons can send it back to the lords for re-discussion. The Lords cannot stop a bill for longer than one parliamentary session. If a bill is accepted, it is forwarded to the Queen, who will then sign it and make it law. If a bill is amended, the amended bill is sent back to the House of Commons for discussion.
The Lords are not elected; they are appointed. Lords can take a "whip", that is to say, they can choose a party to represent. Currently, most Peers are Conservative.
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.
