House of Commons Public Bill Committee Proceedings

House of Commons

Session 2006 - 07
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House of Commons Standing Orders - Public Business

(4) Unless the House otherwise orders, each Member

nominated to the committee shall continue to be a member of

it for the remainder of the Parliament.

Regulatory

Reform

Committee.

141.—(1) There shall be a select committee, called the

Regulatory Reform Committee, to examine—

(i) every document containing proposals laid before the

House under section 6 of the Regulatory Reform Act

2001;

(ii) every draft order proposed to be made under section 1

of the Act; and

(ii) every subordinate provisions order or draft of such an

order made or proposed to be made under sections 1

and 4 of the Act (except those not made by a Minister

of the Crown).

(2) The committee shall report to the House, in relation to

every proposals document referred to in paragraph (i) of this

order, either—

(a) that a draft order in the same terms as the proposals

should be laid before the House; or

(b) that the proposals should be amended before a draft

order is laid before the House; or

(c) that the order‑making power should not be used in

respect of the proposals.

(3) The committee shall report to the House, in relation to

every draft order referred to in paragraph (ii) of this order, its

recommendation whether the draft order should be approved.

(4) The committee may draw the special attention of the

House to any subordinate provisions order or draft order

referred to in paragraph (ii) of this order, and may report its

opinion whether or not the order or draft order should be

approved or, as the case may be, annulled.

(5) The committee may report to the House on any matter

arising from its consideration of the said proposals, draft orders

or subordinate provisions orders.

(6) In its consideration of proposals the committee shall

consider in each case whether the proposals—

(a) appear to make an inappropriate use of delegated

legislation;

(b) remove or reduce a burden or the authorisation or

requirement of a burden;

(c) continue any necessary protection;

(d) have been the subject of, and take appropriate account

of, adequate consultation;

(e) impose a charge on the public revenues or contain

provisions requiring payments to be made to the

Exchequer or any government department or to any

local or public authority in consideration of any licence

or consent or of any services to be rendered, or

prescribe the amount of any such charge or payment;

(f) purport to have retrospective effect;

(g) give rise to doubts whether they are intra vires;

(h) require elucidation, are not written in plain English or

appear to be defectively drafted;

(i) appear to be incompatible with any obligation

resulting from membership of the European Union;

(j) prevent any person from continuing to exercise any

right or freedom which he might reasonably expect to

continue to exercise;

(k) satisfy the conditions of proportionality between

burdens and benefits set out in sections 1 and 3 of the

Act;

(l) satisfy the test of desirability set out in section 3(2)(b)

of the Act;

(m) have been the subject of, and take appropriate account

of, estimates of increases or reductions in costs or other

benefits which may result from their implementation;

or

(n) include provisions to be designated in the draft order

as subordinate provisions;

and in the case of the latter consideration the committee shall

report its opinion whether such a designation should be made,

and to what parliamentary proceedings any subordinate

provisions orders should be subject.

(7) In its consideration of draft orders, the committee shall

consider in each case all such matters set out in paragraph (6)

of this order as are relevant and the extent to which the Minister

concerned has had regard to any resolution or report of the

committee or to any other representations made during the

period for parliamentary consideration.

(8) In its consideration of any subordinate provisions order

the committee shall in each case consider whether the special

attention of the House should be drawn to it on any of the

grounds on which (in accordance with paragraph (B) of

Standing Order No. 151 (Statutory Instruments (Joint

Committee)) the Select Committee on Statutory Instruments

may draw the attention of the House to a statutory instrument;

and if the committee is of the opinion that any such order or

draft order should be annulled, or, as the case may be, should

not be approved, they shall report that opinion to the House.

(9) The committee shall consist of fourteen members.

(10) Unless the House otherwise orders, each Member

nominated to the committee shall continue to be a member of

it for the remainder of the Parliament.

(11) The committee shall have power—

(a) to send for persons, papers and records, to sit

notwithstanding any adjournment of the House, to

adjourn from place to place within the United

Kingdom, and to report from time to time;

(b) to appoint specialist advisers either to supply

information which is not readily available or to

elucidate matters of complexity within the committee’s

order of reference; and

(c) to appoint a sub‑committee, of which the quorum shall

be two, which shall have power to send for persons,

papers and records, to sit notwithstanding any

adjournment of the House, and to adjourn from place to

place within the United Kingdom.

(12) The committee and the sub‑committee shall have the

assistance of the Counsel to the Speaker and, if their Lordships

think fit, the Counsel to the Lord Chairman of Committees.

(13) The committee and the sub‑committee shall have power

to invite Members of the House who are not members of the

committee to attend meetings at which witnesses are being

examined and such Members may, at the discretion of the

chairman, ask questions of those witnesses; but no Member not

being of the committee shall otherwise take part in the

proceedings of the committee or sub‑committee, or be counted

in the quorum.

(14) It shall be an instruction to the committee that before

reporting either—

(a) that any proposal should be amended before the draft

order is laid before the House, or

(b) that the order‑making power should not be used in

respect of any proposal, or

(c) that any draft order should not be approved,

it shall afford to any government department concerned an

opportunity of furnishing orally or in writing to it or to the

sub‑committee appointed by it such explanations as the

department think fit.

(15) It shall be an instruction to the committee that it report

on every draft order (not being a subordinate provisions order)

not more than fifteen sitting days after the draft order was laid

before the House, indicating in the case of draft orders which it

recommends should be approved whether its recommendation

was agreed without a division.

.

142. [Repealed, 13th July 2005].

European

Scrutiny

Committee.

143.—(1) There shall be a select committee, to be called the

European Scrutiny Committee, to examine European Union

documents and—

(a) to report its opinion on the legal and political

importance of each such document and, where it

considers appropriate, to report also on the reasons for

its opinion and on any matters of principle, policy or

law which may be affected;

(b) to make recommendations for the further

consideration of any such document pursuant to

Standing Order No. 119 (European Standing

Committees); and

(c) to consider any issue arising upon any such document

or group of documents, or related matters.

The expression ‘European Union document’ in this order and

in Standing Order No. 16 (Proceedings under an Act or on

European Union documents), No. 89 (Procedure in general

committees) and No. 119 (European Standing Committees)

means—

(i) any proposal under the Community Treaties for

legislation by the Council or the Council acting jointly

with the European Parliament;

(ii) any document which is published for submission to

the European Council, the Council or the European

Central Bank;

(iii) any proposal for a common strategy, a joint action or

a common position under Title V of the Treaty on

European Union which is prepared for submission to

the Council or to the European Council;

(iv) any proposal for a common position, framework

decision, decision or a convention under Title VI of the

Treaty on European Union which is prepared for

submission to the Council;

(v) any document (not falling within (ii), (iii) or (iv)

above) which is published by one Union institution for

or with a view to submission to another Union

institution and which does not relate exclusively to

consideration of any proposal for legislation;

(vi) any other document relating to European Union

matters deposited in the House by a Minister of the

Crown.

(2) The committee shall consist of sixteen Members.

(3) The committee and any sub-committee appointed by it

shall have the assistance of the Counsel to the Speaker.

(4) The committee shall have power to appoint specialist

advisers either to supply information which is not readily

available or to elucidate matters of complexity within the

committee’s order of reference.

(5) The committee shall have power to send for persons,

papers and records, to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of

the House, to adjourn from place to place, and to report from

time to time.

(6) The quorum of the committee shall be five.

(7) The committee shall have power to appoint sub-

committees and to refer to such sub-committees any of the

matters referred to the committee.

(8) Every such sub-committee shall have power to send for

persons, papers and records, to sit notwithstanding any

adjournment of the House, to adjourn from place to place, and

to report to the committee from time to time.