Flood and Water Management Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 6:00 pm on 19 January 2010.
Anne McIntosh
Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I am most grateful for the opportunity to discuss Clause 30. The Minister and the Committee will be aware that the Select Committee expressed concern about some of the definitions. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee concluded that it was concerned that bodies that will be able to designate things appear unsure about their scope or scale. The purpose of clause 30 is not in question, but we want greater clarity about what could be designated, how the designating authorities will co-ordinate with one another and how differences of opinion between designating authorities would be resolved. Furthermore, the provisions providing safeguards and appeals should be included in the Bill. To a large extent, that issue has been addressed, so I will confine my remarks—
Eric Martlew
Labour, Carlisle
Order. You will have the opportunity to speak on schedule 1 stand part.
Anne McIntosh
Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Indeed, Mr. Martlew. Clause 30 gives additional legal powers to the Environment Agency to specify further and to designate the assets or features that may be considered under the clause, but Ofwat—
Eric Martlew
Labour, Carlisle
Order. You will have the opportunity to speak on that later.
Anne McIntosh
Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Will the Minister comment on designation—the power to designate, and the powers given to designating bodies—as a preliminary before we consider schedule 1?
Eric Martlew
Labour, Carlisle
The Minister is looking puzzled; I may have allowed the hon. Lady to go too far.
Huw Irranca-Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) (Marine and Natural Environment)
I am happy to expand on that now, but I am wondering whether I will stray into a subsequent debate.
Eric Martlew
Labour, Carlisle
We cannot have the debate twice. It would be better if the Minister confined his comments to the schedule.
Huw Irranca-Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) (Marine and Natural Environment)
I note the points, and I will return to the matter when we come to the schedule.
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.
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.
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.
