Part of European Parliament (Representation) Bill – in a Public Bill Committee am 10:15 am ar 16 Ionawr 2003.
Bill Cash
Shadow Attorney General
10:15,
16 Ionawr 2003
The amendments deal with the day on which the Bill will come into effect. Amendment No. 69 would delete the words after
''the passing of this Act''
in subsection 3 and insert:
''and shall come into force in Gibraltar on such day as the Secretary of State''—
we have come to accept that in this context it will again be the Lord Chancellor—
''following consultation with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, may appoint by order made by statutory instrument.''
That would reverse the manner in which the commencement operates at present, because the Bill says that part 1, sections 8 and 9 and part 3 shall
''come into force in each part of the United Kingdom on the passing of this Act but shall not come into force in Gibraltar until such day as the Lord Chancellor may appoint by . . . statutory instrument.''
It seems extraordinary that the Bill does not provide for consultation with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar about the date on which commencement in respect of Gibraltar would take place. Furthermore, it seems more appropriate that the wording should be in the positive and say that the Bill will come into force following that consultation on the day appointed by order made by statutory instrument.
Clause 25(4) states:
''Sections 10 to 21 shall not come into force . . . until such day as the Lord Chancellor may appoint by order made by statutory instrument.''
Amendment No. 70 would reverse that language by stating that those sections
''shall come into force on such day as''
the Lord Chancellor,
''following consultation with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar,''—
for very several sensible reasons—
''may appoint by order made by statutory instrument.''
As I have frequently said, the difficulties with the Bill tend to gravitate around the absence of proper consultation with the Chief Minister of the Government of Gibraltar. That probably reflects a deeper malaise with respect to this Government's attitude towards the Bill, about which they were not enthusiastic and into which they have been pushed. The difficulties depend on our relationship with Spain, and the Government are inherently reluctant to be
positive about the consultative process, which is a reprehensible, unnecessary and avoidable attitude.
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