Part of Orders of the Day — Housing (Rural Workers) Bill. – in the House of Commons am ar 6 Rhagfyr 1926.
Sir George Newton
, Cambridge
I beg to second the Amendment.
We attach considerable importance to this proposal. Considerable expenses might be incurred, and if the owner of the dwelling-house were found to be a man of straw the county council would be responsible for the whole of any loss which might then be incurred. That appeared to the county councils to be hardly a fair position in which to place them. The Amendment provides that half the loss would be borne by the county council and half by the Ministry of Agriculture.
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.
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.
