The debate
87. We noted in our report on the proposal for this
Order that the Standing Orders of the House specify those circumstances
in which the House will debate draft Regulatory Reform Orders
before voting on whether they should be approved. The Standing
Orders do not provide that there should be a debate in circumstances
where this Committee unanimously recommends that the draft Order
should be approved. Although we believed the fire safety proposal
was one which was fully appropriate for introduction by delegated
legislation, we nevertheless considered that this Order was of
such magnitude, and the subject of such clear public importance,
that it would be appropriate for the Government to find time for
an adjournment debate on the subject of fire service reform. We
made a recommendation to this effect in our report on the proposal.
88. The Government arranged that there should be
an adjournment debate in Westminster Hall on 27 January 2004.[38]
We were glad to note the general welcome which Members gave to
this opportunity to debate the Government's proposed Order and
that the debate was felt to provide a valuable additional means
by which the Government could take the measure of wider views
in the House, to supplement our own formal scrutiny under our
Standing Order.
89. We also consider that the debate on 27 January
2005 was of value in giving the Regulatory Reform Act procedure
a wider exposure in the House than it generally receives. We hope
that the Government will consider making time available for further
debates in relation to Regulatory Reform Order proposals which
give rise to substantial policy or legislative changes which engage
the wider interest of the House.
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