Enterprise Bill – in a Public Bill Committee am 12:15 pm ar 16 Ebrill 2002.
Miss Melanie Johnson
Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry
The Clause will abolish the office of the Director General of Fair Trading and transfer his rights, property liabilities and functions to the new OFT that clause 1 creates. The Fair Trading Act 1973 established the statutory office of the DGFT, as the hon. Member for Eastbourne said. The office holds a wide range of consumer protection and competition powers, many of which are being reformed. In the light of those reforms, the Government believe that an individual should no longer hold the powers. We propose under clauses 1 and 2 to transfer the powers to a new statutory body with a board and a chairman. We already discussed the nature of the board and the expertise and knowledge that will inform its decisions.
As I said, the current DGFT agrees with the decision. He was appointed in the full knowledge that that was the Government's intention. As was set out in Mr. Vickers' letter of appointment, we intend to appoint him as the first chairman of the OFT for the remainder of his existing term. He has stated publicly that he wants to serve only one term, which covers his time as DGFT and chairman. Mr. Vickers has appointed an advisory panel to act as a Shadow board that will provide him with advice on the OFT strategy, new policy developments, areas of research and debate, market analysis and communication. The panel is strictly advisory and lacks the executive powers that the new OFT board will have under the Bill. Nevertheless, it has provided useful experience prior to the move to a full board.
The abolition of the office of DGFT and the move to a statutory authority will benefit business and consumers. The new authority will be independent and have a wide decision-making base. It will be fully accountable to Parliament and the public, and will be able to act swiftly and effectively.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause 2 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
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 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.
The shadow cabinet is the name given to the group of senior members from the chief opposition party who would form the cabinet if they were to come to power after a General Election. Each member of the shadow cabinet is allocated responsibility for `shadowing' the work of one of the members of the real cabinet.
The Party Leader assigns specific portfolios according to the ability, seniority and popularity of the shadow cabinet's members.
