Note by Liam Laurence Smyth, Clerk of
Bills (P 49, Session 2008-09)
AMENDMENTS TABLED
IN THE
NAME OF
A SELECT
COMMITTEE
1. The Clerk of the Procedure Committee
informed the Clerk of Legislation on 2 April 2009 that the Committee
has been considering a proposal that select committees should
be allowed to table amendments to bills in their own name. She
told us that, of the various options by which this could be done,
the Committee is mindful to support the minimalist approach of
placing a symbol by the name of the chairman of a committee where
he has been authorised to table that Amendment by a formal decision
of the committee. She said that the Procedure Committee would
be pleased to know our views on whether such a change would be
desirable and what its implications would be for procedure and
practice in the consideration of public bills. We understand that
the Committee also intends to ask the Chairman of Ways and Means
and the Chairmen's Panel for comments.
NAMES ON
THE ORDER
PAPER
2. At present the only symbol that appears
on the notice paper next to a Member's name is [R] for a declared
registrable interest. While some ministers (for example, The Prime
Minister, Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, Secretary Jack Straw)
have official titles on the Order Paper, most ministers (including
Ms Harriet Harman, Yvette Cooper, Nicholas Brown) do not. Nor
is there any indication on the Order Paper of party affiliation
or Opposition spokesmanship.
3. The House readily understands that, just
as an amendment tabled by a single Minister is a Government amendment,
an amendment tabled by one or more spokesman for an Opposition
party is in practice an amendment tabled on behalf of that party.
4. It is possible already, with the agreement
of the Member in charge (the Minister, in the case of a Government
bill) for a "tag" to be placed on the Order Paper indicating
that a select committee publication is relevant to the matter
before the House. The Sessional Returns list the numbers of "tags".
5. There is no difficulty at the moment
in identifying an amendment tabled in the names of all the Members
on a certain select committee. As one Member may give notice of
behalf of other Members, if he or she has their permission, it
is already possible for a chairman to table an amendment in the
names of the all the Members of a select committee.
6. Where the Standing Orders require motions
affecting membership of most select committees to be tabled by
the Committee of Selection, the mover is listed on the notice
paper as "Rosemary McKenna, on behalf of the Committee of
Selection"—and the official record shows the motion
moved by whichever Member of the Committee of Selection was present
to move the motion, explicitly stating "on behalf the Committee
of Selection".
7. It would be possible to print the full
name of a committee on the Order Paper, for example "Phil
Willis, on behalf of the Innovation, Universities, Science and
Skills Committee". In FrameMaker (the software used to produce
the amendment notice papers), it would in fact be easier to use
the full name of the committee than to use footnotes or symbols.
As extra names after the first six Members' names are set out
in three columns, it may look a little odd on the page if the
"Member, on behalf of XX Committee" is not among the
top six.
IMPLICATIONS
8. The implications of giving a higher profile
to select committees in legislative activity are for the Procedure
Committee, and perhaps the Liaison Committee and indeed the House
itself, to consider. Only the Tax Law Rewrite and Consolidation
Joint Committees are actually required by Standing Orders of the
House to consider bills. In addition, a joint or select committee
may be appointed to consider a draft bill, or a bill may be committed
to an ad hoc select committee after its Second Reading (or, very
rarely, a bill may be referred to a select committee already established
under Standing Orders after its first reading).
9. The Procedure Committee may wish to consider
issuing guidance on whether it would be appropriate for a committee's
name to appear in support of an amendment unless (for example)
it had been approved unanimously at a quorate meeting where notice
of the matter had been given in advance. The committee may also
wish to consider the propriety of the name of a joint committee
appearing in support of amendments which might not necessarily
have been endorsed by a majority of its Commons membership, and
where the decision was attributable to the wishes of the Lords
members.
10. Our view is that there are not necessarily
any consequences for the procedure and practice of the House in
the consideration of public bills that would flow from allowing
select committees to table amendments to bills in their own name.
The Speaker would continue to exercise the power of grouping and
selection of amendments according to the principles set out in
Erskine May (23rd edition, page 621, referring to pages 461 to
463 and page 605).
CONCLUSION—DESIRABILITY
11. It is for the Procedure Committee to
take a view on whether it would be desirable to permit amendments
to bills be tabled by a chairman (or other Member) "on behalf
of the select committee". We would not expect to encounter
any practical obstacle to doing this.
June 2009
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