NATIONAL LOTTERY BILL [HL]
Introduction
33. The Department's
memorandum (printed in the Annex to this report) draws attention
to the powers and the Parliamentary control provided in the bill.
We have confined our comments to the most significant powers.
Affirmative powers
34. This bill
contains a number of powers made subject to affirmative resolution
procedure, which the Committee considers appropriate. Clause 6
establishes the New Opportunities Fund. The clause inserts new
sections in the National Lottery etc. Act 1993 and section 43
B(1) enables the Secretary of State to specify by order the "initiatives
concerned or connected with health education or the environment"
which the Fund is to support. This power is subject to affirmative
procedure (unless clause 7(6) applies or the order simply revokes
an earlier order when negative procedure applies). Clause 13 amends
the 1993 Act to apply these procedures.
35. Clause
14 establishes the National Endowment for Science, Technology
and the Arts (NESTA). Clause 15(2) sets out the means by which
NESTA is to achieve its objects and, if NESTA so requests, the
Secretary of State may amend that subsection to add to, remove
or vary any of these means (subsection (3)). Subsection (4) applies
affirmative procedure to this Henry VIII power.
36. Clause
17 provides NESTA with its funds. Subsection (1) provides the
initial endowment and subsection (2) allows the Secretary of State
to provide by order for the payment of further sums from the National
Lottery Distribution Fund to NESTA. Subsection (8) applies affirmative
procedure.
37. Clause
10 provides for joint schemes for the distribution of Lottery
funds by distributing bodies. Schedule 3 inserts in the 1993 Act
a new Schedule about joint schemes. Paragraph 2(1) of that Schedule
provides that where a particular joint scheme involves the distribution
of more than £5 million in any year, the scheme requires
the authority of the Secretary of State (by order subject to negative
procedure, unless it is mere revocation in which case it is simply
laid before Parliament - see new subsections (3A) and (3B) in
clause 13(5)). Paragraph 2(5) allows the Secretary of State by
order to increase the monetary limit in paragraph 2(1). Affirmative
procedure is applied to this Henry VIII power by the amendments
made by clause 13.
Negative powers
38. Clause
6 and paragraph 2(1) of the Schedule inserted by Schedule 3 to
the bill have been mentioned above. Other negative powers are
in clause 2(1) (new section 10A(6) and (7)), Schedule 2 (paragraph
1(3) of the new Schedule 6A) and paragraph 1(3) of Schedule 4.
Of these the last two require examination as they are Henry VIII
powers.
39. Clause
7(6) is concerned with an initial order under section 43B of the
1993 Act (see clause 6 above) and reduces affirmative procedure
to negative if the order is confined to the initiatives which
were the subject of consultation before clause 6 comes into force.
The Department's Explanatory Memorandum explains that clause 7(6)
relates to the Government's plans for the first three initiatives
to be funded by the Fund, namely out of school hours activities,
training for teachers and librarians in information and communications
technology and healthy living centres. The House may wish to seek
an undertaking from the Minister that clause 7(6) will be limited
to the three initiatives referred to in paragraph 2.2.5 of the
Memorandum.
40. Paragraph
1(3) of Schedule 6A allows the Secretary of State to amend paragraph
1(1). Amendments are limited to changing the number of members
of the New Opportunities Fund; negative procedure has been considered
appropriate in the past for such a power and the Committee considers
it appropriate in this instance.
41. Paragraph
1(3) of Schedule 4 is similar in that it enables the Secretary
of State to increase the number of trustees of NESTA. Again
the Committee considers negative procedure appropriate.
Recommendation
42. The Committee
draws the attention of the House to the inclusion in the bill
of Henry VIII powers. There is nothing else in the bill to which
the House's attention need be drawn.[2]
Request for evidence
The Committee requests submissions
in writing no later than Monday 19 January on the following proposal
for a draft deregulation order laid before the House on the date
shown. Copies of the proposal and accompanying Explanatory Memorandum
are available to Peers from the Printed Paper Office-
Draft Deregulation
(Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles) Order 1998 (9 December)
2 This report is also published on the Internet at the House of Lords Select Committees Home Page (http://www.parliament.uk), where further information about the work of the Committee is also available. Back
| 
