Modern Slavery Bill – in a Public Bill Committee am 3:30 pm ar 9 Medi 2014.
David Hanson
Shadow Minister (Home Affairs)
3:30,
9 Medi 2014
I beg to move Amendment 124, in Clause 24, page 19, line 3, after subsection (6) add—
‘(7) The Secretary of State shall publish statutory guidance on the measures that may be included in a slavery and trafficking risk order within one month of this Act receiving Royal Assent.”
Amendment 124 would simply make publishing statutory guidance a matter of course for the Minister following the passing of the Bill. Going back to a range of discussions on the draft Bill, it was suggested that guidance be brought forward on a statutory basis. Indeed, Ministers indicated in the response to the Joint Committee’s scrutiny that they would bring forward statutory guidance, but I am conscious of the fact that saying they will and actually doing so are different things. I want to get that commitment from the Minister that she will publish statutory guidance on the measures that may be included in the risk order within one month of the Bill receiving Royal Assent.
We have had explanatory notes to the Bill and to the clauses, and we have the commitments that have been given in the response to the pre-legislative scrutiny, but I felt it appropriate to give the Minister an opportunity to say that she will publish statutory guidance, what it will include, when she will publish it and anything else she wishes to enlighten the Committee about. That was the purpose of tabling the amendment.
Karen Bradley
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for setting out the intention behind the Amendment. The Government will support law enforcement to implement the new slavery and trafficking prevention and risk orders and to use them appropriately and effectively to protect the public. Clause 32 will help to achieve that goal by requiring the Secretary of State to issue guidance to chief officers of the police, immigration officers and the director general of the National Crime Agency regarding the use of their powers in relation to the orders.
The guidance will include advice on how to use orders effectively, covering, for example, the types of restrictions that could assist in managing the risk posed by individuals and the onward management of others. We expect that the guidance will also be used to help law enforcement deal appropriately with more vulnerable people. We will work with law enforcement bodies and wider partners to develop the guidance. I can assure the right hon. Gentleman that guidance on the measures that may be included as part of a slavery and trafficking risk order, which he wants to introduce through the amendment, will be included in the broader guidance.
The amendment is also intended to ensure that such guidance is published within one month of the Bill reaching Royal Assent. Although we can anticipate what the guidance will include, we cannot finalise it until full discussion of the Bill has concluded. We will work with law enforcement and wider partners to develop the guidance, and we will consider including guidance on issues that are raised as the measures are debated in Parliament. Consequently, we must ensure that there is sufficient time to consult on the draft guidance. It would be unwise to bind the Government into achieving that in such a short time frame.
As the guidance will be issued at the same time as the provisions of the Bill commence, requiring the guidance to be issued one month after Royal Assent would tie the Government into commencing the provisions at the same time. The Bill may receive Royal Assent close to the date of the dissolution of Parliament before the General Election. When a general election campaign is under way, it would be impractical to require any guidance to be completed within a month. I therefore hope that the right hon. Gentleman will withdraw his amendment.
David Hanson
Shadow Minister (Home Affairs)
I beg to ask leave to withdraw the Amendment.
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.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
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.
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.
In a general election, each constituency chooses an MP to represent it by process of election. The party who wins the most seats in parliament is in power, with its leader becoming Prime Minister and its Ministers/Shadow Ministers making up the new Cabinet. If no party has a majority, this is known as a hung Parliament. The next general election will take place on or before 3rd June 2010.
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.
