Part of the debate – in a Public Bill Committee am 10:30 am ar 19 Mehefin 2012.
Iain Wright
Shadow Minister (Business, Innovation and Skills)
10:30,
19 Mehefin 2012
On behalf of Her Majesty’s Opposition, I welcome every hon. Member to the Committee. I particularly welcome you, Mr Brady. I am sure that you will keep us all in order.
We had a good debate on Second Reading, in which we started to expose the weaknesses in the Bill and the poverty of ideas on facilitating economic growth and enterprise. Many hon. Members described it as a rag-tag of a Bill, and I agree. It will be difficult to scrutinise its different aspects properly in the time that we have, especially if the Government table amendments that substantially extend or alter its scope. In the Programming Sub-Committee meeting, I told the Minister that we would not be happy if he introduced amendments that would substantially alter the Bill’s scope and we did not have time to debate them. He kindly said that we could extend the sittings into the evening and, if possible, through the night. Hon. Members will be delighted to hear that, and we will certainly hold him to it. On that basis, and bearing in mind my reservations, the Opposition are happy to support the programme motion.
The Second Reading is the most important stage for a Bill. It is when the main purpose of a Bill is discussed and voted on. If the Bill passes it moves on to the Committee Stage. Further information can be obtained from factsheet L1 on the UK Parliament website.
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.
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".
