SECOND REPORT
The Select Committee appointed to consider
any instrument which is directed by Act of Parliament to be laid
before and to be subject to proceedings in this House only being:
(a) a statutory instrument,
or draft of a statutory instrument;
(b) a scheme, or an amendment of a scheme, or a draft thereof,
requiring approval by statutory instrument; or
(c) any other instrument (whether or not in draft), where
the proceedings in pursuance of an Act of Parliament are proceedings
by way of an affirmative resolution:
In pursuance of the Instruction that in considering
any such instrument the Committee do not join with the Committee
appointed by the Lords, has made progress in the matter referred
to it and has agreed the following report:
1. The Committee has considered the instruments listed
in the Annex to this Report, and has determined that the special
attention of the House does not require to be drawn to any of
them.
Asian Development Bank (Seventh
Replenishment of the Asian Development Fund) Order 2001
2. The Committee draws the attention of the House
to the above instrument on the ground that there is, as yet, no
power to make the Order.
3. The draft Order requires affirmative approval
of the House of Commons under section 4(3) of the Overseas Development
and Co-operation Act 1980 before the Order can be made. The purpose
of the instrument is to authorise the Secretary of State to make
further contributions of a sum not exceeding £84,718,086
to the Asian Development Fund of the Asian Development Bank in
accordance with arrangements made between HM Government and the
Bank. Section 4(1) of the 1980 Act provides that if the Government
becomes bound by arrangements to make payments to the Bank, the
Secretary of State may, with Treasury approval, provide by order
for the required payments to be paid out of money provided by
Parliament. The power to make such an order arises when: (a) the
Government becomes bound to make the payments, and (b) the draft
Order is approved by the House of Commons. The voluntary memorandum
submitted by the Department for International Development and
printed in the Appendix explains that no obligation to make the
payment envisaged by article 2 of the draft Order will arise until
an instrument of contribution is deposited by the United Kingdom
and has become effective. The draft Order has been presented for
approval of the House at this time in order to secure its support
before the deposit of that instrument, and to authorise the making
of an order which would justify the payments. The Secretary of
State will only have power to make an Order in terms of the draft
once the obligation to make the payments comes into existence.
Paragraph 8 of the memorandum contains in effect an undertaking
that the Secretary of State will not seek to make the Order until
she has power to do so.
4. The Committee has resolved to follow its usual
practice[1]
of reporting such Orders on the basis that, although there is,
as yet, no power to make the Order, there is no technical reason
for the House not to approve the draft instrument: it should merely
be aware that it is acting, as on occasions in the past, on a
ministerial undertaking. The Committee reports the instrument
accordingly.
1 Sixth Report from the Select Committee on Statutory
Instruments (1998-99), Thirteenth Report (1992-93), First Report
(1996-97), First Report (1997-98), Second Report (1997-98) and
First Report (1999-2000) Back
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