Part of Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 11:00 am on 21 June 2005.
Jim Knight
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Rural Affairs, Landscape and Biodiversity), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) (Rural Affairs, Landscape and Biodiversity)
11:00,
21 June 2005
It has been an interesting debate, but I come back to the delegation powers that we have included in the Bill and which we will debate later. They give us some room for movement in respect of shifting some of these things around within the basic infrastructure that we are setting up in this legislation. We will re-evaluate things on a rolling basis to see whether they are successful. Ultimately, we regard the Forestry Commission as a relatively successful body and we shall continue to support it in its present structure, as Lord Whitty said in reply to the right hon. Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack) in relation to the Government’s rural delivery strategy last year.
We have considered whether we can achieve our objectives of sustainable land management and better customer service with the arrangements set out in the Bill, without the institutional disruption that we have debated. We are satisfied that the Forestry Commission and Natural England will be able to work closely together to deliver the benefits that we want for the environment and for customers. On that basis, I hope that the hon. Member for South-East Cambridgeshire will 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.