Part of Orders of the Day — Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Bill – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 5 Awst 1947.
Mr Colin Thornton-Kemsley
, Kincardine and Western
12:00,
5 Awst 1947
I am not disputing that there is such a thing as "near ripe land." I had the advantage of serving on the Standing Committee which considered the English Bill, and I know that this category of "near ripe land" was invented not by the Joint Under-Secretary, but by the Minister of Town and Country Planning. Now, I confess that all the way through the latter stages of our proceedings in the Standing Committee which considered the Scottish Bill, I expected that either the Secretary of State for Scotland or the Joint Under-Secretary would introduce this new category of land which had been imported by the Minister of Town and Country Planning. I stand open to correction, but I think I am right in saying that this is the first time in our proceedings on the Scottish Bill that there has been any mention of "near ripe land." If we are to have this new category of "near ripe land," the owners of which will be able to take a privileged position at the head of the queue of those people lining up for a share in the inadequate global sum, then we ought to have been told about it earlier.
I do not upon that ground alone express my sorrow that the Government should resist this Amendment. It seems to me that when setting out to define a category of land which is called "Land ripe for development"—to use the words in the rubric to the Clause—one must be thorough about it and include all land which is, in fact, ripe. I do not think the Joint Under-Secretary has convinced the House, in advancing his reasons for rejecting the Amendment, that land upon which development actually started on 7th January, 1947, could today be described in any other terms except as land which is ripe for development. Until he has made a case for rejecting the Amendment, we cannot agree to the proposal for rejection.
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.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
In a normal session there are up to ten standing committees on bills. Each has a chair and from 16 to 50 members. Standing committee members on bills are appointed afresh for each new bill by the Committee of Selection which is required to take account of the composition of the House of Commons (ie. party proportions) as well as the qualification of members to be nominated. The committees are chaired by a member of the Chairmen's Panel (whose members are appointed by the Speaker). In standing committees the Chairman has much the same function as the Speaker in the House of Commons. Like the Speaker, a chairman votes only in the event of a tie, and then usually in accordance with precedent. The committees consider each bill clause by clause and may make amendments. There are no standing committees in the House of Lords.
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.
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.
