Part of Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill – in a Public Bill Committee am 11:00 am ar 27 Ionawr 2005.
Nigel Evans
Ceidwadwyr, Ribble Valley
11:00,
27 Ionawr 2005
I also seek clarification on the Clause. I know that the Minister will say that the fine must be set at a level that people, if they have offended, are likely to pay rather than risk going to court. If the amount is disproportionate, such as £500 or £1,000, that is clearly a huge sum of money. The fine must be reasonable, and £75 has been deemed fairly reasonable.
Is the provision flexible for a local authority where somebody's alarm has gone off a few times because of a fault, particularly if, for instance, the alarm is reset but goes off again in two weeks because of another fault? We must incentivise the person to maintain or replace the alarm, particularly if it is old. If somebody's alarm went off and the local authority said, ''In these circumstances, we would normally fine you £100, but we will reduce that amount if you replace it or obtain a certificate to show that it has been properly maintained,'' would the arrangement be flexible, or does the local authority have to fine them? We do not want to penalise people willy-nilly; we want the problem to go away. That is what the Bill is all about, and we want the fault on the alarm fixed.
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.
