House of Commons Public Bill Committee Proceedings

House of Commons

Session 2009 - 10
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 9 February 2010
209

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, continued

‘Standing Orders of the House of Commons and House of Lords shall make

provision under which either House may pass in relation to any person being a

Minister of the Crown but not being a Member of that House a resolution

whereby that person or any such person may be enabled to participate in the

proceedings of the House, save that the resolution shall not permit such a person

to vote in any proceedings in the House.’.

Selection of a Prime Minister

Mr Douglas Hogg

Not selected  NC27

To move the following Clause:—

‘Within two days of the meeting of a new Parliament following a General

Election or within 25 days of the death or the resignation of a serving Prime

Minister the House of Commons shall order an Address to be presented to Her

Majesty naming one of its Members and asking Her Majesty to invite that

Member to form a Government.’.

Fixed term parliaments

Mr Douglas Hogg

Not selected  NC28

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
Except as provided for in subsection (2) below a General Election shall take place

every five years on the first Thursday in June.

(2)
In the event that Her Majesty dissolves Parliament following the defeat of the

government of the day on a motion of no confidence or on such other motion as

causes the Prime Minister to advise Her Majesty to dissolve Parliament,

subsection (1) shall have no effect and the General Election next after that caused

as a result of such a dissolution shall be held five years after the date on which the

General Election immediately following the dissolution was held.’.

War powers

Mr Douglas Hogg

Not called  NC29

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
Subject to subsection (2) below United Kingdom armed forces shall not be

committed abroad in circumstances in which it is likely that they will be involved

in hostilities unless prior to that deployment both the House of Commons and the

Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 9 February 2010
210

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, continued

House of Lords shall have approved that deployment and its duration, purpose

and character.

(2)
Where it is not reasonably practicable to secure a vote of both Houses of

Parliament before deployment overseas in the circumstances set out above, the

requirements of subsection (1) shall be deemed to be satisfied if within 20 days

of the initial deployment both Houses of Parliament shall have approved that

deployment, and its duration, purpose and character; and in the event that the

requirements of this subsection are not satisfied such armed forces as have been

deployed shall as soon as reasonable practicable return to the United Kingdom or

to such other bases from which they may have been deployed.’.

Recall of the House of Commons

Mr Douglas Hogg

Not selected  NC30

To move the following Clause:—

‘Standing Orders of the House of Commons shall make provision to enable the

Speaker to require the House of Commons to meet at a time earlier than that to

which it then stands adjourned, provided only that the Speaker is satisfied that it

is in the public interest that the House of Commons should so meet.’.

Business committee

Mr Douglas Hogg

Not selected  NC31

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
Standing Orders of the House of Commons shall make provision for the

establishment of a Business committee which shall have as its principal function

the preparation of a rolling fortnightly programme of the public business of the

House, which programme shall be put to the House for decision every week and

shall include the dates of legislative business and of Opposition days.

(2)
The Business Committee shall consist of The Chairman of Ways and Means, who

shall be the Chairman, and eight other Members elected by secret ballot.’.

Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 9 February 2010
211

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, continued

Referendum on electoral reform

Martin Linton

Mr Tom Watson

Martin Salter

Jon Cruddas

Tom Levitt

Frank Cook

Not called  NC32

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
The Secretary of State shall be under a duty to ensure that a referendum on

reforming the electoral system for the House of Commons is held before 28

October 2010.

(2)
The referendum must offer a choice between the existing method of voting and a

preferential system.

(3)
If the result of the referendum is in favour of changing the electoral system for the

House of Commons, the Secretary of State shall be under a duty to lay

implementing measures before Parliament within three months of the date of the

referendum.

(4)
In this section—

“implementing measures” means measures designed to and likely to

implement the result of the referendum before the general election next

following the referendum, and includes bills and statutory instruments;

“preferential voting system” means a system of voting in which electors

may express their support for individual candidates in order of preference

and in which they are not restricted to expressing a fixed number of

preferences.’.

Code of conduct for publicly funded bodies

Mr Francis Maude

Mr Dominic Grieve

Mrs Eleanor Laing

Not called  NC36

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
The Minister for the Civil Service must publish a code of conduct and lay such a

code before Parliament for publicly funded bodies who do not form part of the

civil service of the State.

(2)
Such a code of conduct must be accompanied by a list of publicly funded bodies

subject to the code as prepared by the Minister for the Civil Service. In preparing

such a list the Minister for the Civil Service must consult with the First Minister

for Scotland and the First Minister for Wales.

(3)
Changes to the list of publicly funded bodies subject to the code must be laid

before Parliament by the Minister for the Civil Service.

(4)
For this purpose, the Minister may publish separate codes of conduct covering

publicly funded bodies who have relations with the Scottish Executive or the

Welsh Assembly.

Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 9 February 2010
212

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, continued

(5)
Before publishing a code (or any revision of the code) under subsection (4), the

Minister must first consult the First Minister for Scotland or the First Minister for

Wales (as the case may be).

(6)
Such a code of conduct must include but is not limited to—

(a)
an obligation to spend taxpayers’ money responsibility;

(b)
a requirement to minimise expenditure.

(7)
“Publicly funded bodies code” means a code of conduct published under this

section for the time being.

(8)
The First Minister for Scotland must lay before the Scottish Parliament any

publicly funded bodies code under subsection (4) that covers publicly funded

bodies that have a relationship with the Scottish Parliament.

(9)
The First Minister for Wales must lay before the National Assembly of Wales any

civil service code under subsection (4) that covers publicly funded bodies that

have a relationship with the Welsh Assembly Government.’.

Procedure Committee amendments to standing orders

John Hemming

Mark Fisher

Mr Graham Allen

Not selected  NC46

To move the following Clause:—

‘Standing Orders of the House of Commons shall make provision for the

Procedure Committee to have the power to table amendments to Standing Orders

for the whole House to accept or reject following a short debate within one week

of the tabling of such amendments.’.

Royal marriages (prevention of religious discrimination)

Dr Evan Harris

Mr Andrew Dismore

Not called  NC48

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
The Bill of Rights (1688 1 Will. & Mar. Sess. 2 c. 2) is amended as follows.

(2)
In section 1, the paragraph starting “Upon which their said Majestyes did accepte

the crowne”, omit the words “or shall marry a papist” and “or marrying”.

(3)
The Act of Settlement 1700 is amended as follows.

(4)
In section 2 (The persons inheritable by this Act, holding communion with the

church of Rome, incapacitated as by the former Act, to take the oath at their

coronation, according to Stat 1, W & M c. 6), omit the words “or shall marry a

papist”.

(5)
The Union with Scotland Act 1706 (c. 11) is amended as follows.

(6)
In Article II (succession to the monarchy), omit the words “and persons marrying

papists” and the words “or person marrying a papist”.

Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 9 February 2010
213

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, continued

(7)
The Union with England Act 1707 (c. 7) is amended as follows.

(8)
In Article II, omit the words “and persons marrying papists” and the words “or

person marrying a papist”.

(9)
The Royal Marriages Act 1772 (c. 11) is repealed.

(10)
Within one year of Royal Assent to this Act the Secretary of State shall consult

governments of constitutional monarchies under Her Majesty within the

Commonwealth on the provisions of this section.

(11)
Subject to subsection (14), this section comes into force on such a day as the

Secretary of State may by order appoint.

(12)
No order may be made under this section before the Secretary of State has carried

out consultations pursuant to subsection (10).

(13)
For the avoidance of doubt this section does not affect the validity of any

succession to the Crown which occurred before the date on which this section

comes into force.

(14)
This section affects the order of succession to the Crown in the event of the death

of Her present Majesty.

(15)
The Secretary of State shall make an order under this section within three years

of Royal Assent to this Act.

(16)
This section extends to the United Kingdom only.’.

Succession to the Crown (prevention of sex discrimination)

Dr Evan Harris

Lynne Featherstone

Mr Andrew Dismore

Not called  NC49

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
In determining the line of succession to the Crown and to all rights, privileges and

dignities belonging thereto, no account shall be taken of gender, notwithstanding

any previous custom or rule of law to the contrary.

(2)
This section is subject to the Act of Settlement 1700.

(3)
Within one year of Royal Assent to this Act the Secretary of State shall consult

governments of constitutional monarchies under Her Majesty within the

Commonwealth on the provisions of this section.

(4)
Subject to subsection (7), this section comes into force on such a day as the

Secretary of State may by order appoint.

(5)
No order may be made under this section before the Secretary of State has carried

out consultations pursuant to subsection (3).

(6)
For the avoidance of doubt this section does not affect the validity of any

succession to the Crown which occurred before the date on which this section

comes into force.

(7)
This section affects the order of succession to the Crown in the event of the death

of Her present Majesty.

(8)
The Secretary of State shall make an order under this section within three years

of Royal Assent to this Act.

Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 9 February 2010
214

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, continued

(9)
This section extends to the United Kingdom only.’.

Amendment of Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967

Dr Tony Wright

Mr Gordon Prentice

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger

Mr Charles Walker

Paul Rowen

David Heyes

Not called  NC50

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
The Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 (c. 13) is amended as follows.

(2)
In section 5—

(a)
in subsection (1)(a), after the words “to a member of the House of

Commons” there is inserted “or to the Commissioner”;

(b)
in subsection (1)(b), for the words “the complaint” there is substituted “if

the complaint is made to a member of the House of Commons it”;

(c)
in subsection (1A)(a), after the words “to a member of the House of

Commons” there is inserted “or to the Commissioner”;

(d)
in subsection (1A)(b), for the words “the complaint” there is substituted

“if the complaint is made to a member of the House of Commons it”.

(3)
In section 6(3), after the words “to a member of the House of Commons” there is

inserted “or to the Commissioner”.

(4)
In section 10(1), for the words “member of the House of Commons by whom the

request for investigation was made” there is substituted “person by whom a

complaint was made under this Act and, if a member of the House of Commons

requested an investigation, to that member”.

(5)
In section 10(5)—

(a)
in paragraph (b)—

(i)
after the words “member of the House of Commons” there is

inserted “or a complainant”;

(ii)
after the words “such a member” there is inserted “or

complainant”;

(b)
in paragraph (c)—

(i)
after the words “such a member” there is inserted “or by the

Commissioner”;

(ii)
after the words “sent to a member” there is inserted “or the

complainant”.’.

Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 9 February 2010
215

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, continued

Electoral system for the House of Commons

David Howarth

Mr David Heath

Chris Huhne

Not called  NC56

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
The Schedules [Single Transferable Vote System of Election for the House of

Commons] and [Constituency Boundaries for Single Transferable Vote System of

Election for the House of Commons] shall have effect.

(2)
Paragraph 18 of Schedule 1 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 is

repealed.’.

Intelligence and Security Committee

Mr Andrew Dismore

Not selected  NC58

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
The Intelligence Services Act 1994 (c. 13) is amended as follows.

(2)
In section 10, subsection (3) is replaced by the following subsection—

“(3)
The members and Chairman of the Committee shall be elected in

accordance with the system of election of members and Chairmen of the

select committees of the House of Commons.’.

Simple majority voting

Daniel Kawczynski

Not called  NC69

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
Voting in all national, regional and local elections in the United Kingdom shall

be by simple majority.

(2)
The amendments in Schedule [Voting by simple majority] shall have effect.

(3)
No change shall take effect in the voting system in use in national, regional or

local elections until at least one general election has taken place subsequent to—

(a)
Royal Assent being given to any Act making such a change, or

(b)
a Minister making an Order;


and until at least one session of Parliament has been completed since that general

election.’.



© Parliamentary copyright 2010	Revised 10 February 2010