Part of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 10:00 am on 6 March 2024.
Maria Miller
Conservative, Basingstoke
10:00,
6 March 2024
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Fovargue, and to bring the Bill to the Committee. I thank all colleagues for agreeing to sit on the Committee and for enabling us to scrutinise the Bill in some detail.
Before I start, I should put on record my gratitude to the secretary-general of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Stephen Twigg, for his steadfast commitment to the CPA and his passionate championing of the Bill; my hon. Friend Mr Liddell-Grainger, who is the chair of the international executive committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, for his support for changing the status of the CPA; and the International Committee of the Red Cross for the incredibly important work it does. I should not forget the Minister, who is in his place today; his colleague, the noble Lord Ahmad; or the formidable team at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. They have understood the importance of what our organisations do to support democracy around the world and have provided invaluable support and guidance.
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.
Of a male MP, sitting on his regular seat in the House. For females, "in her place".
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.
