House of Commons Votes and Proceedings
Tuesday
8th December 2015

No. 84

The House met at 11.30 am.

PRAYERS.

1 Questions to the Secretary of State for Justice

2 Introduction of new Member

James McMahon, Member for Oldham West and Royton, was sworn.

3 Fracking (Measurement and Regulation of Impacts) (Air, Water and Greenhouse Gas Emissions) Bill: Presentation (Standing Order No. 57)

Geraint Davies, supported by Mike Weir, Jonathan Edwards, Kate Osamor, Tulip Siddiq, Neil Coyle, Caroline Lucas, Chris Evans, Dawn Butler, Mr Mark Williams, Dr Rupa Huq and John Mc Nally, presented a Bill to require the Secretary of State to measure and regulate the impact of unconventional gas extraction on air and water quality and on greenhouse gas emissions; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the first time; to be read a second time on Friday 29 January 2016 and to be printed (Bill 105).

4 Asylum (Unaccompanied Children Displaced by Conflict): Motion for leave to bring in a Bill (Standing Order No. 23)

Ordered, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision about the award of asylum-seeker status in the United Kingdom to certain unaccompanied children from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Eritrea displaced by conflict and present within the European Union; and for connected purposes;

That Tim Farron, Liz Saville Roberts, Mr Alistair Carmichael, Mr Nick Clegg, Norman Lamb, Greg Mulholland, John Pugh, Mr Mark Williams, Yvette Cooper, Stephen Gethins, Ms Margaret Ritchie and Caroline Lucas present the Bill.

Tim Farron accordingly presented the Bill.

Bill read the first time; to be read a second time on Friday 11 March 2016, and to be printed (Bill 104).

5 European Union Referendum Bill (Programme) (No. 3)

Motion made and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 83A(7)), That the following provisions shall apply to the European Union Referendum Bill for the purpose of supplementing the Orders of 9 June 2015 (European Union Referendum Bill (Programme)) and 7 September 2015 (European Union Referendum Bill (Programme) (No. 2)):

Consideration of Lords Amendments

(1) Proceedings on consideration of Lords Amendments shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion three hours after their commencement at today’s sitting.

(2) The proceedings shall be taken in the order shown in the first column of the following Table.

(3) The proceedings shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion at the times specified in the second column of the Table.

Table

Lords Amendments	Time for conclusion of proceedings
No. 1	One hour after the commencement of proceedings on consideration of Lords Amendments
Nos. 5, 6, 2 to 4 and 7 to 46	Three hours after the commencement of those proceedings

Subsequent stages

(4) Any further Message from the Lords may be considered forthwith without any Question being put.

(5) The proceedings on any further Message from the Lords shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion one hour after their commencement.-(Jackie Doyle-Price.)

Question agreed to.

6 European Union Referendum Bill: Consideration of Lords Amendments

The Speaker announced that Lords Amendment 1 engaged Commons financial privilege.

Lords Amendment 1

Motion made and Question put, That this House disagrees with the Lords in their Amendment 1.-(John Penrose.)

The House divided.

Division No. 144.

Ayes: 303 (Tellers: Sarah Newton, Simon Kirby).

Noes: 253 (Tellers: Judith Cummins, Vicky Foxcroft).

Question accordingly agreed to.

Lords Amendment 1 accordingly disagreed to.

Lords Amendment 5

Amendment (a) moved.-(Sir William Cash.)

Question proposed, That the Amendment be made.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Lords Amendment 5 agreed to.

It being three hours after the commencement of proceedings on consideration of Lords Amendments, the Deputy Speaker put the Question necessary to dispose of proceedings (Programme Order, today).

The following Question was put forthwith (Standing Order No. 83F).

That this House agrees with the Lords in their Amendments 6, 2 to 4 and 7 to 46 (Single question to agree with all remaining Lords amendments).

Question agreed to.

Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 83H(2)), That a Committee be appointed to draw up a Reason to be assigned to the Lords for disagreeing to their Amendment 1.

That Judith Cummins, George Hollingbery, Mr David Lidington, Mr Pat McFadden, James Morris, Christopher Pincher and Owen Thompson be members of the Committee.

That Mr David Lidington be the Chair of the Committee.

That three be the quorum of the Committee.

That the Committee do withdraw immediately.-(George Hollingbery.)

Question agreed to.

7 European Union Referendum Bill (Reasons Committee)

Mr David Lidington reported from the Committee appointed to draw up a Reason to be assigned to the Lords for disagreeing to one of their Amendments to the European Union Referendum Bill, That it had drawn up the following Reason, which he was required to report to the House, pursuant to the Order of that day:

The Commons disagree to Lords Amendment 1 for the following Reason:-

Because it would involve a charge on public funds, and the Commons do not offer any further Reason, trusting that this Reason may be deemed sufficient.

The Reason was agreed to.

Message to the Lords to communicate the said Reason with the Bill.

8 Cross-Border Cooperation to Tackle Serious and Organised Crime: Prüm

Motion made and Question proposed, That this House, wishing to see serious crimes solved, to counter terrorism and to see foreign criminals prosecuted and deported, supports opting in to the Prüm Decisions; notes the views of senior law enforcement officers that the Prüm Decisions are an important aid to tackling crime; notes the success of a pilot that demonstrated that the Prüm Decisions mechanism is both swift and effective; and further notes that only a subset of the relevant national DNA and fingerprint databases, containing data relating to individuals convicted of recordable offences, will be made available for searching by other participating States, and that the higher UK scientific standards will be applied to matches in the UK.-(Secretary Theresa May.)

Amendment (a) put, in line 2, to leave out from ‘deported’ to the end and add ‘, does not support opting in to the Prüm Decisions because of the need to protect the civil liberties of British citizens, because of the risks to UK sovereignty posed by accepting the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in this area and because it would mean missing the opportunity to require a better arrangement, noting that the Government’s policy is to renegotiate the jurisdiction of the ECJ and the result of the referendum in Denmark preserving that country’s opt-out from such measures that will require Denmark to negotiate on an intergovernmental basis; notes that necessary international cooperation against terrorism and serious crime does not, and did not prior to the Lisbon Treaty, require the UK to accept the supremacy of EU law, the jurisdiction of the ECJ or the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights; and therefore requires the Government to secure alternative arrangements outside the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.’.-(Sir William Cash.)

The House divided.

Division No. 145.

Ayes: 26 (Tellers: Mr Steve Baker, Mr Philip Hollobone).

Noes: 503 (Tellers: Sarah Newton, Simon Kirby).

Question accordingly negatived.

Main Question put and agreed to.

9 Statutory Instruments: Motion for Approval

Motion made and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 118(6)), That the draft Small Charitable Donations Act (Amendment) Order 2015, which was laid before this House on 28 October, be approved.-(Charlie Elphicke.)

Question agreed to.

10 Subsidiarity and Proportionality and the Commission’s Relations with National Parliaments

Motion made and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 119(11)), That this House takes note of European Union Documents No. 10651/15 and Addendum, a Commission Annual Report 2014: Subsidiarity and proportionality, and No. 10663/15 and Addendum, a Commission Annual Report 2014: relations with national parliaments; recognises the importance of the principle of subsidiarity and the value of stronger interaction between national parliaments and the EU institutions; welcomes the Government’s reform agenda and efforts to ensure that the Commission responds to future objections under the yellow card scheme by substantially amending or withdrawing the proposal that has been put forward; calls on the Commission to respond to the request of 29 national parliament chambers to establish a working group to consider reforms to strengthen their role; is encouraged by the Commission’s announcement of its intentions to forge a new partnership with national parliaments; and calls on the Commission to set out its plans to do this.-(Charlie Elphicke.)

Question agreed to.

11 Public Petitions

A Public Petition from residents of the UK relating to car parking charges at Congleton War Memorial Hospital was presented and read by Fiona Bruce.

A Public Petition from residents of the constituency of Stone in Staffordshire relating to the reopening of Barlaston railway station (Stoke-on-Trent) was presented and read by Sir William Cash.

12 Adjournment

Subject: Disabled parking permits in the London Borough of Harrow (Bob Blackman).

Motion made and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.-(Charlie Elphicke.)

At 7.00 pm, the Motion lapsed (Standing Order No. 9(3)).

Resolved, That this House do now adjourn.-(Charlie Elphicke.)

Adjourned at 7.21 pm until tomorrow.

_________________

Other proceedings

Private Business

13 Standing Orders Committee

(1) The Chairman of Ways and Means reported from the Standing Orders Committee that it had resolved, in respect of the Petition for Additional Provision 4 deposited in relation to the High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Bill: That the following Standing Orders ought to be dispensed with: 10, 10A, 11, 12, 12A, 13, 27, 27A, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 41, 42 and 45.

(2) Ordered, That the Standing Orders Committee have leave to report evidence taken this day on the High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Bill.

(3) The Chairman of Ways and Means reported evidence taken before the Standing Orders Committee on the High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Bill.

Evidence to be published.

General Committees: Reports

14 Childcare Bill [Lords] Committee

Mr David Hanson (Chair) reported written evidence submitted to the Committee.

Written evidence to be published

15 Housing and Planning Bill Committee

Mr James Gray (Chair) reported written evidence submitted to the Committee.

Written evidence to be published.

General Committees: Appointments

The Speaker appoints the Chair of General Committees and members of Programming Sub-Committees, and allocates Statutory Instruments to Delegated Legislation Committees.

The Committee of Selection nominates Members to serve on General Committees (and certain Members to serve on Grand Committees).

16 Second Delegated Legislation Committee (Draft Disclosure of Exporter Information Regulations 2015)

Members: Sir Paul Beresford and Helen Whately discharged and Mr Alan Mak and Maggie Throup nominated in substitution.

Reports from Select Committees

17 Backbench Business Committee

Determination of business to be taken on 17 December in the Chamber and in Westminster Hall, with Annex containing a transcript of representations made on 8 December, to be published (Ian Mearns).

18 Business, Innovation and Skills Committee

(1) Assessing quality in Higher Education: Oral evidence, to be published (HC 572);

(2) The digital economy: Written evidence, to be published (HC 571)

(Mr Iain Wright).

19 Culture, Media and Sport Committee

BBC Charter Review: Oral and written evidence, to be published (HC 398) (Jesse Norman).

20 Defence Committee

An acceptable risk? The use of Lariam for military personnel: Oral and written evidence, to be published (HC 567) (Dr Julian Lewis).

21 Energy and Climate Change Committee

(1) Home energy efficiency and demand reduction: Oral and written evidence, to be published (HC 552);

(2) DECC Annual Report and Accounts 2014–15: Written evidence, to be published (HC 544);

(3) Low carbon network infrastructure: Written evidence, to be published (HC 613);

(4) Responsibilities of the Oil and Gas Authority: Written evidence, to be published (HC 508)

(Angus Brendan MacNeil).

22 Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Greyhound welfare: Oral evidence taken before the Sub-Committee on Greyhound Welfare, to be published (HC 478) (Neil Parish).

23 Foreign Affairs Committee

Costs and benefits of EU membership for the UK’s role in the world: Oral evidence, to be published (HC 545) (Crispin Blunt).

24 Health Committee

Primary care: Oral evidence, to be published (HC 408) (Dr Sarah Wollaston).

25 High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Bill Select Committee

High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Bill: Oral and written evidence, to be published (HC 129) (Mr Robert Syms).

26 Home Affairs Committee

(1) The work of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner: Oral evidence, to be published (HC 513);

(2) The work of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration: Oral and written evidence, to be published (HC 362);

(3) The work of the National Crime Agency: Oral and written evidence, to be published (HC 475);

(4) Countering extremism: Written evidence, to be published (HC 428);

(5) Immigration: skill shortages: Written evidence, to be published (HC 429);

(6) Reform of the Police Funding Formula: Written evidence, to be published (HC 476)

(Keith Vaz).

27 International Development Committee

(1) DFID’s allocation of resources: Oral evidence, to be published (HC 533);

(2) Sustainable Development Goals: Written evidence, to be published (HC 337);

(3) Syrian refugee crisis: Written evidence, to be published (HC 463)

(Stephen Twigg).

28 Northern Ireland Affairs Committee

Outcome of the Spending Review and the Talks: Oral evidence, to be published (HC 639) (Laurence Robertson).

29 Petitions Committee

(1) Record of the Committee’s decisions relating to e-petitions, to be published;

(2) Funding for research into brain tumours: Written evidence, to be published (HC 554)

(Helen Jones).

30 Science and Technology Committee

(1) Investigatory Powers Bill: Technology issues: Oral and written evidence, to be published (HC 573);

(2) Correspondence from the Committee to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, relating to The science budget and the Spending Review: Written evidence, to be published;

(3) The big data dilemma: Written evidence, to be published (HC 468)

(Nicola Blackwood).

31 Treasury Committee

Comprehensive Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015: Oral evidence, to be published (HC 638) (Mr Andrew Tyrie).

32 Women and Equalities Committee

Transgender equality:

(1) First Report, to be printed, with the Formal Minutes relating to the Report (HC 390);

(2) Written evidence, to be published (HC 390)

(Mrs Maria Miller).

John Bercow

Speaker

The Speaker will take the Chair at 11.30 am.

Sitting in Westminster Hall

The sitting began at 9.30 am

Business appointed by the Chairman of Ways and Means (Standing Order No. 10(6))

(1) Access to medicines for people with cystic fibrosis and other rare diseases

Resolved, That this House has considered access to medicines for people with cystic fibrosis and other rare diseases.-(Ian Austin.)

(2) Proposal for a Shakespeare theatre in Knowsley

Resolved, That this House has considered the proposal for a Shakespeare theatre in Knowsley.-(Mr George Howarth.)

The sitting was suspended between 11.27 am and 2.30 pm (Standing Order No. 10(1)(b)).

(3) Marriage registration certificates

Resolved, That this House has considered marriage registration certificates.-(Mrs Caroline Spelman.)

(4) Mobile phone coverage and the Electronic Communications Code

Motion made and Question proposed, That this House has considered mobile phone coverage and the Electronic Communications Code.-(Andrew Percy.)

At 4.30 pm, the Motion lapsed (Standing Order No. 10(6)).

(5) Lead shot ammunition

Resolved, That this House has considered lead shot ammunition.-(Gerald Jones.)

Sitting adjourned without Question put (Standing Order No. 10(14)).

Adjourned at 5.29 pm until tomorrow.

Lindsay Hoyle

Chairman of Ways and Means

APPENDIX

Papers presented or laid upon the Table:

Papers subject to Negative Resolution:

1 Animals

Animal By-Products (Enforcement) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (S.I., 2015, No. 1980), dated 4 December 2015 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Secretary Elizabeth Truss).

2 Corporation Tax

Lloyd’s Underwriters (Transitional Equalisation Reserves) (Tax) Regulations 2015 (S.I., 2015, No. 1983), dated 7 December 2015 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Mr David Gauke).

3 Income Tax

Van Benefit and Car and Van Fuel Benefit Order 2015 (S.I., 2015, No. 1979), dated 7 December 2015 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Damian Hinds).

4 Local Government

(1) Draft Warrington (Electoral Changes) Order 2016 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (The Speaker);

(2) draft Watford (Electoral Changes) Order 2016 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (The Speaker); and

(3) draft Welwyn Hatfield (Electoral Changes) Order 2016 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (The Speaker).

Other Papers:

5 Health Care and Associated Professions

Explanatory Memorandum to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (Fitness to Practise) (Education, Registration and Registration Appeals) (Amendment No. 2) Rules Order of Council 2015 (S.I., 2015, No. 1923) (laid 23 November) (by Command) (Secretary Jeremy Hunt).

Withdrawn Papers:

6 Health Care and Associated Professions

Explanatory Memorandum to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (Fitness to Practise) (Education, Registration and Registration Appeals) (Amendment No. 2) Rules Order of Council 2015 (S.I., 2015, No. 1923) (by Command) (laid 23 November).