Part of Proceeds of Crime Bill – in a Public Bill Committee am 11:00 am ar 6 Rhagfyr 2001.
Dominic Grieve
Shadow Minister (Home Affairs)
11:00,
6 Rhagfyr 2001
I ask about the change of the word ''assertion'' to ''allegation''. I am aware of the desire for uniformity and I tread delicately because of my lack of knowledge of Scottish legal words. However, something about the word ''assertion'' strikes me that it has the capacity to be a term of art in law while ''allegation'' does not. Why is the Amendment necessary? There is either no reason to use the word ''assertion'', in which case one wonders why it crept into the Scottish part of the Bill, or ''assertion'' is a familiar word in Scottish legal terminology, in which case its substitution for ''allegation'' may have a greater effect than initially thought. I do not know whether the Minister or any other hon. Member can enlighten the Committee, but it seems that the two words have a slightly different meaning. Why does Scots law use the word ''assertion'' rather than ''allegation'', and what will be the consequence of getting rid of the word?
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.
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.
