Part of Enterprise Bill – in a Public Bill Committee am 10:45 am ar 7 Mai 2002.
Mark Field
Ceidwadwyr, Cities of London and Westminster
10:45,
7 Mai 2002
I confess that I remain uncomfortable with the limit. The Under-Secretary provides some comfort and says that, all too often, the investigation will not take two years. However, there is a danger in any bureaucracy of an instinctive mentality. Once an investigation starts, those involved will know that they have two years, notwithstanding the provisional timetable to which the Under-Secretary refers. The mentality may be that they have 24 months, and, therefore, things will drag on for a prolonged period.
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.
