Part of Offender Management Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 10:00 am on 18 January 2007.
Diana R. Johnson
PPS (Rt Hon Stephen Timms, Chief Secretary), HM Treasury
10:00,
18 January 2007
This is the second time that the hon. and learned Gentleman has mentioned primary care trusts and funding problems. I want to put it on the record that only a small minority of PCTs are in deficit, not the Majority. Will he reconsider his remarks?
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 term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
