Part of Health and Social Care Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 11:45 am on 22 January 2008.
Jimmy Hood
Labour, Lanark and Hamilton East
11:45,
22 January 2008
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following amendments:
No. 225, in Clause 102, page 50, line 27, at end insert
‘, and respond to the views of’.
No. 206, in clause 102, page 50, line 37, at end insert—
‘(3A) Before making rules the OHPA must publish a response to its consultation as set out in subsection (3).’.
No. 227, in clause 102, page 50, line 37, at end insert—
‘(3A) Before making rules, the OHPA shall respond to any representations made to them—
(a) if the rules affect the profession regulated by the Medical Act 1983, by the General Medical Council, and
(b) if the rules affect the professional regulated by the Opticians Act 1989, by the General Optical Council.’.
No. 226, in clause 102, page 50, line 39, at end insert—
‘(4A) Before approving rules, the Privy Council must note the representations received by the OHPA during the consultation as set out in subsection (3).’.
No. 228, in clause 102, page 50, line 42, at end insert—
‘( ) Before approving rules the Privy Council shall respond to any representations made to them—
(a) if the rules affect the profession regulated by the Medical Act 1983, by the General Medical Council, and
(b) if the rules affect the professional regulated by the Opticians Act 1989, by the General Optical Council.’.
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 Privy Council goes back to the earliest days of the Monarchy, when it comprised those appointed by the King or Queen to advise on matters of state.
As the constitution developed into today's constitutional monarchy, under which The Sovereign acts on the advice of Ministers, so the Privy Council adapted. Its day to day business is transacted by those of Her Majesty's Ministers who are Privy Counsellors, that is all Cabinet Ministers and a number of junior Ministers. Membership of the Privy Council brings with it the right to be called "Right Honourable".
The Privy Council still meets regularly, on average once a month, but, as with the Cabinet, most of its business is transacted in discussion and correspondence between its Ministerial members and the Government Departments that advise them. The Privy Council Office (which is itself a Government Department) provides a secretariat for these discussions, as the Cabinet Office does in relation to the business of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees. Councils are held by The Queen and are attended by Ministers and the Clerk of the Council. At each meeting the Council will obtain Her Majesty's formal approval to a number of Orders which have already been discussed and approved by Ministers, much as Acts of Parliament become law through the giving of the Royal Assent after having been debated in Parliament.
Meetings are reported in the Court Circular, along with the names of Ministers attending (usually four in number). The Orders made at each Council are in the public domain, and each bears the date and place of the Council at which it was made. There is therefore nothing at all "secret" about Privy Council meetings. The myth that the Privy Council is a secretive body springs from the wording of the Privy Counsellor's Oath , which, in its current form, dates back to Tudor times. It requires those taking it to "keep secret all matters...treated of in Council". The Oath (or solemn affirmation for those who cannot take an Oath) is still administered, and is still binding; but it is only in very special circumstances nowadays that matters will come to a Privy Counsellor on "Privy Council terms". These will mostly concern matters of the national interest where it is important for senior members of Opposition parties to have access to Government information.
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.
