Orders of the Day — Succession (Scotland) Bill – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 19 Chwefror 1964.
Lady Grant of Monymusk
, Aberdeen South
12:00,
19 Chwefror 1964
I beg to move, in page 15, line 35, to leave out "and without" and insert:
(2) Without.
This is a drafting Amendment, intended to meet a criticism which was made in Committee. The hon. Member for Kilmarnock (Mr. Ross) pointed out that the whole of subsection (1) was contained in a single long and breathless sentence. I agreed that that was so and that, if possible, we should try to break it up. That is what the Amendment does.
Mr William Ross
, Kilmarnock
I welcome the fact that the Government have accepted yet another of my suggestions.
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.
