Part of Proceeds of Crime Bill – in a Public Bill Committee am 10:45 am ar 13 Tachwedd 2001.
David Wilshire
Ceidwadwyr, Spelthorne
10:45,
13 Tachwedd 2001
I agree with everything that my hon. Friend has said.
I wish the Minister to keep in mind a different matter, which might become serious—although at the moment it may seem petty and silly. Subsection (5) states:
``Anything which the Director is authorised or required to do may be done by—
(a) a member of staff of the Agency, or
(b) a person providing services under arrangements made by the Director''.
The director is entitled to appoint people all the way down through the system—to the office cleaners, for example—and he is entitled to arrange services, such as those provided by the outside contractors who do the catering for his staff. I am sure that the Government do not intend to allow such people to deal with some of the highly sensitive matters that the Bill addresses. Is the Minister prepared to register that point, and if Members from my party choose to revisit it, will he clarify the fact that certain services or activities should be handled only by senior people? It might be necessary to ask for changes to be made.
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.
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.
