Part of Inquiries Bill [Lords] – in a Public Bill Committee at 2:30 pm on 22 March 2005.
Chris Leslie
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Constitutional Affairs)
2:30,
22 March 2005
The hon. Member for Huntingdon makes the arguments against amendments Nos. 36 and 38 for me. I was tempted to do otherwise, but now that he has convinced me, it occurs to me that I could give other reasons why we should not accept them.
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.
