Part of Proceeds of Crime Bill – in a Public Bill Committee am 12:15 pm ar 29 Ionawr 2002.
Ian Davidson
Labour/Co-operative, Glasgow Pollok
12:15,
29 Ionawr 2002
I should like to break into this period of self-indulgence on the part of Opposition lawyers. I thought that the hon. Gentleman's point about free access to lawyers was especially interesting, but he quickly corrected himself.
This is a rather introspective dialogue, and I understand why the visitors who came into the Room earlier did not last long. Indeed, one of the officials beside me has started writing his will, on the basis that he thinks that he does not have long to live if the hon. Gentleman continues in his present vein.
The Clause relates to the rights of lawyers, who have always struck me as worrying more about their income than about their clients. Does the Minister believe that the Bill gives the Government sufficient power to inhibit the collaboration of lawyers with criminals? We have spent an enormous amount of time discussing the position of lawyers and their need for protection, but I detect a lack of acceptance on the part of the Opposition that there is a problem with lawyers who are corrupt and dishonest and collaborate with criminals and without whom many of the difficulties in our society would not exist.
I hope that in his anxiety to be agreeable to the Opposition the Minister will not move away from the recognition that a serious problem is involved. I hope that he will reassure me that there are sufficient powers in the Bill and elsewhere not only to inhibit lawyers from collaborating with criminals but to catch and punish those who do.
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.
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 Opposition are the political parties in the House of Commons other than the largest or Government party. They are called the Opposition because they sit on the benches opposite the Government in the House of Commons Chamber. The largest of the Opposition parties is known as Her Majesty's Opposition. The role of the Official Opposition is to question and scrutinise the work of Government. The Opposition often votes against the Government. In a sense the Official Opposition is the "Government in waiting".
