– in a Public Bill Committee at on 21 October 2014.
Annette Brooke
Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party
8:55,
21 October 2014
Before we begin, I have a few preliminary announcements. Please could everyone switch their electronic devices to silent? I remind members of the Committee that tea and coffee are not allowed during sittings and that they may remove their jackets.
The Committee will first be asked to consider the programme motion as on the Amendment paper. Debate on that is limited to half an hour but we intend to proceed as quickly as possible. Then we will consider a motion to permit the Committee to deliberate in private in advance of the oral evidence session, and then a motion to report written evidence. In view of today’s tight timetable, I hope that the motions will be moved formally. Assuming that there is agreement, we will then deliberate in private to discuss the line of questioning. Therefore, I am afraid that we will be asking a large number of people to leave the room for a few moments. Obviously, they will be invited back as soon as our deliberations in private are completed; I hope they will not take long.
Ordered,
That—
(1) the Committee shall (in addition to its first meeting at 8.55 am on Tuesday 21 October) meet—
(a) at 2.00 pm on Tuesday 21 October;
(b) at 11.30 am on Thursday 23 October;
(c) at 8.55 am and 2.00 pm on Tuesday 28 October;
(2) the Committee shall hear oral evidence in accordance with the following Table:
Witness
Tuesday 21 October
Until no later than 9.30 am
Low Incomes Tax Reform Group; Office of Tax Simplification
Tuesday 21 October
Until no later than 10.15 am
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales; Baker Tilly
Tuesday 21 October
Until no later than 10.45 am
Chartered Institute of Taxation; Recruitment and Employment Confederation
Tuesday 21 October
Until no later than 11.25 am
Her Majesty’s Treasury; Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs; Department for Work and Pensions
(3) proceedings on consideration of the Bill in Committee shall be taken in the following order: Clause 1; Schedule 1; Clauses 2 and 3; Schedule 2; Clauses 4 to 8; new Clauses; new Schedules; remaining proceedings on the Bill.
(4) the proceedings shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion at 5.00 pm on Tuesday 28 October.—(Mr Gauke.)
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.
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.
