Orders of the Day — Harbours Bill – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 16 Mawrth 1964.
Mr James Stodart
, Edinburgh West
12:00,
16 Mawrth 1964
I beg to move, in page 59, line. 16, at the end to insert:
(2) For the purposes of obtaining the issue of a provisional order under the Private Legislation Procedure (Scotland) Act 1936 containing any such provision as aforesaid, it shall be deemed, notwithstanding the passing of this Act, that the objects of that provision cannot be attained without an order confirmed by Parliament under the said Act of 1936.
This Amendment is simply to provide for the correct Scottish application of the Clause The Clause as it stands makes clear that a harbour authority which wishes to obtain powers in relation to its harbour may promote a Private Bill to do so in spite of the fact that it might have obtained the powers it required by an Order made by the Minister under the Bill. In Scotland, the procedure is by provisional order under the Private Legislation Procedure (Scotland) Act, 1936, instead or by Private Bill, and the effect of the Amendment is to ensure that harbour authorities in Scotland may continue, if they wish, to obtain new powers by private legislation procedure if they prefer this method rasher than by applying to the Minister of Transport or, in the case of a marine work, to the Secretary of State for art Order under the Bill.
Mr James Hoy
, Edinburgh Leith
This is a little more than just a draining point. It is true that the new wording brings Scotland into line with England, but I do not know for what good reason the Government found it necessary to propose the Amendment. I do not understand why people would want to adopt the old procedure now that we have sought to accommodate them in the Bill in another and easier way. But I accept from the Under-Secretary of State that there may still be people who want to introduce a little private legislation of their own. If they want to do it and spend their money in that way, the Government are making it possible. It is not a matter of great moment, but I am glad that an explanation was given.
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.
A proposal for new legislation that is debated by Parliament.
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.
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.
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.
