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European Communities (Amendment) Bill (Allocation of Time)
8.26 pm
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Robin Cook): I beg to move,
- That the following provisions shall apply to the remaining proceedings on the European Communities (Amendment) Bill:--
1.--(1) The remaining proceedings in Committee shall be completed in two allotted days.
(2) At the sitting on the first allotted day, proceedings on any amendment to Clause 1--
(a) which may be selected and
(b) which would insert after '9' at line 13 of page 1 of the Bill words relating to paragraph 40 of Article 2 of the Treaty,
shall be brought to a conclusion, if not previously concluded, at half past Seven o'clock.
(3) At the sitting on that day proceedings on any amendment to Clause 1--
(a) which may be selected, and
(b) which would insert at the end of line 13 of page 1 of the Bill words relating to Article 2(3)(b) of the Treaty,
shall be brought to a conclusion, if not previously concluded, at Nine o'clock.
(4) At the sitting on the second allotted day, any remaining proceedings on Clauses 1 and 2 shall be brought to a conclusion, if not previously concluded, at half past Six o'clock.
(5) At that sitting, the remaining proceedings in Committee shall be brought to a conclusion, if not previously concluded, at Eight o'clock.
The Bill that we are debating again tonight passed its Second Reading five weeks ago and on that night it obtained a majority in the House of 230; 50 more than the Government majority.
Mr. Richard Shepherd (Aldridge-Brownhills):
So what?
Mr. Cook:
That information is relevant precisely because, in the Division, the Bill received cross-party support from four parties represented in the Chamber. It is not simply a partisan measure supported by the Government alone; it represents a widely held view in the House. Among the mainland parties, only the Conservative party voted against it. Even one or two among that party managed to smuggle out messages that they did so half-heartedly.
Since the Second Reading debate, the Bill has received detailed consideration over three days. It has now been debated on the Floor of the House for 20 hours.
Mr. Cook:
I do not know quite what the hon. Gentleman finds so funny about that idea. I am bound to say that if he had sat through all of those 20 hours he would not have found them quite so funny.
Mr. Cook:
I shall proceed. The hon. Gentleman can intervene later.
That consideration is on top of the evidence on the Bill that I gave to the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, North (Mr. Henderson), gave to the Scrutiny Committee. No fair-minded person can complain that Parliament has not had an adequate opportunity to scrutinise the Bill.
Mr. Christopher Gill (Ludlow)
rose--
Mr. Cook:
I did say fair minded. I owe it to the hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Mr. Shepherd) to give way.
Mr. Shepherd:
The right hon. Gentleman is making out a case out about the details of the Bill and he is about to argue that it requires a guillotine. He will remember that the instance cited by the Leader of the House about the Single European Act was one which the right hon. Gentleman thought outrageous at the time, as did the right hon. Lady. They both voted against it. This is a constitutional Bill of
2. When the Order of the Day is read for the House to resolve itself into a Committee on the Bill, the Speaker shall leave the Chair without putting any Question and the House shall resolve itself into a Committee forthwith whether or not notice of an instruction to the Committee has been given; and Standing Order No. 66 (Committee of the whole House on bill) shall not apply.
3. On the conclusion of the proceedings in Committee the Chairman shall report the Bill to the House without putting any Question and, if he reports the Bill with amendments, the House shall proceed to consider the Bill as amended without any Question being put.
4. The proceedings on Consideration and on Third Reading shall be completed on the second allotted day and shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at Ten o'clock.
5.--(1) For the purpose of bringing any proceedings to a conclusion in accordance with paragraphs 1 or 4, the Chairman or Speaker shall forthwith put the following Questions (but no others)--
(a) any Question already proposed from the Chair;
(b) any Question necessary to bring to a decision a Question so proposed;
(c) the Question on any amendment moved or Motion made by a Minister of the Crown;
(d) any other Question necessary for the disposal of the business to be concluded;
and on a Motion so made for a new Clause or new Schedule, the Chairman or Speaker shall put only the Question that the Clause or Schedule be added to the Bill.
(2) If an allotted day is one on which a Motion for the Adjournment of the House under Standing Order No. 24 (Adjournment on specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration) would, apart from this Order, stand over to Seven o'clock--
(a) that Motion shall stand over until the conclusion of any proceedings on the Bill which, under this Order, are to be brought to a conclusion before that time; and
(b) the bringing to a conclusion of any proceedings on the Bill which, under this Order, are to be brought to a conclusion after that time shall be postponed for a period of time equal to the duration of the proceedings on that Motion,
and paragraph (1) of Standing Order No. 15 (Exempted business) shall apply to the proceedings on the Bill for a period of time equal to the duration of the proceedings on that Motion.
(3) If an allotted day is one to which a Motion for the Adjournment of the House under Standing Order No. 24 stands over from an earlier day, the bringing to a conclusion of any proceedings on the Bill which under this Order are to be brought to a conclusion on that day shall be postponed for a period equal to the duration of the proceedings on that Motion; and paragraph (1) of Standing Order No. 15 (Exempted Business) shall apply to the proceedings on the Bill for a period of time equal to the duration of the proceedings on that Motion.
6. No motion shall be made to alter the order in which any proceedings on the Bill are taken.
7. No dilatory Motion with respect to, or in the course of proceedings on, the Bill shall be made on an allotted day except by a Minister of the Crown, and the Question on any such Motion shall be put forthwith.
8. The following business shall not be interrupted under any Standing Order relating to the sittings of the House and may be decided, though opposed, at any hour--
(a) proceedings under paragraph 5(1);
(b) proceedings to which paragraph 5(2) or (3) applies;
(c) proceedings under paragraph 10(1).
9. Standing Order No. 82 (Business Committee) shall not apply to this Order.
10.--(1) The proceedings on any Motion made by a Minister of the Crown for varying or supplementing the provisions of this Order shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion one hour after they have been commenced.
(2) If at the sitting on an allotted day the House is adjourned, or the sitting is suspended, before the time at which any proceedings are to be brought to a conclusion under paragraphs 1 or 4, no notice shall be required of a Motion made at the next sitting by a Minister of the Crown for varying or supplementing the provisions of this Order.
11. No debate shall be permitted on any Motion to recommit the Bill (whether as a whole or otherwise) and the Speaker shall put forthwith any Question necessary to dispose of the Motion, including the Question on any amendment moved to the Question.
12. In this Order--
"allotted day" means any day (other than a Friday) on which the Bill is put down as first Government Order of the Day;
"the Treaty" means the Treaty signed at Amsterdam on 2nd October 1997 amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related Acts.
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