Memorandum by The Lord Chancellor
GOVERNMENT AMENDMENTS TO THE BILL
INTRODUCTION
1. This document describes the Government amendments
to the Constitutional Reform Bill which I wish to move in the
Select Committee. Where appropriate, I make suggestions as to
the way in which these amendments may best be handled which I
hope are consistent with the Committee's views as expressed at
the meeting on 11 May and in response to Lord Richard's paper.
2. I am not seeking to move all the amendments
the Government wishes to make to the Bill in this Committee, rather
I have focused on those the Committee will wish to consider, those
which deliver agreements with the Lord Chief Justice and those
where minor and straightforward corrections may be made to the
Bill without impinging on the Committee's limited time. My proposals
for handling the amendments are also intended to ensure that the
Committee has time to debate the issues we have identified as
critical and not waste our time on issues we do not consider so
pressing.
3. I have grouped the amendments I wish to make
to the Constitutional Reform Bill into three categories:
—"Substantive Amendments": those
which deal with some of the major issues this Committee has been
considering, many of which I mentioned in my speech at Second
Reading of the Bill (section one, paragraphs 11 to 31 and annex
A);
—"Concordat Amendments": further
amendments to the Bill needed to ensure that it delivers the agreements
reached with the Lord Chief Justice, set out in the written statement
placed in the libraries of both Houses on 26 January 2004 and
known as the Concordat (section two, paragraphs 32 to 62; and
—"Minor and Technical Amendments":
those which are minor and technical and either simply correct
the Bill or provide additional minor provisions to deliver matters
consequential to the provisions in the Concordat. These minor
Concordat amendments introduce no new principle to the Bill, they
simply deal with the detailed effects of the Concordat (section
three, paragraphs 63 to 65 and Annex A).
4. The main part of this note is accordingly
divided into three sections, one for each category of amendment.
Each part sets out which clauses and schedules of the Bill I am
seeking to amend and the effect each amendment will have. There
are a number of proposed amendments in relation to which I am
seeking the views of my cabinet colleagues before any final decision
to go ahead and amend the Bill. If tabled, these will be substantive
amendments for full debate by the Committee.
5. At the beginning of each section I have also
set out my proposals for handling each category of amendment and
am seeking the Committee's agreement to those arrangements.
6. The Committee should be aware that the amendments
described in this paper are in different stages of development.
Some are now near complete and ready to table. Others are still
at the point where details of drafting and policy remain outstanding.
I am confident that the great majority of the amendments will
be ready in time for consideration by the committee. However,
I cannot exclude the possibility that despite our best efforts
some of the amendments described here will not be ready in time
to be tabled by 4 or 8 June. If that turns out to be the case,
I will be bringing those amendments forward in the Committee of
the Whole House. In the very few cases where there is a significant
chance of this happening, it is indicated in the body of the paper.
If any such cases do in fact arise the Committee will of course
still be able to consider the policy behind the relevant amendments,
as described in this paper.
7. In addition, as drafts of some of the minor
and technical amendments (described in Annex A) are still in the
process of being settled, it is possible it will emerge that some
of these amendments are for technical reasons unnecessary, or
need to be done in a different way. For example, it might turn
out that some of the amendments we have listed separately can
be combined in a more convenient way than we envisaged, or that
some require additional, minor consequential amendments that we
have not spotted.
8. If there are differences between the amendments
as described in this paper and as tabled in due course, I will
bring the differences to the Committee's attention either when
tabling the amendments or when the amendments fall to be considered
by the Committee.
9. I would also like to bring to the committee's
attention the fact that there will be other amendments we will
be bringing forward before the Committee of the Whole House which
are not described in this paper. For example, an amendment relating
to the involvement of the President of the new Supreme Court in
the appointment of the registrar of the Privy Council. Some introduce
provisions for Northern Ireland and were set out in my written
evidence paper, Proposals relating to Northern Ireland, submitted
to the Committee on 26 April 2004.
10. I have assumed that the Committee will consider
the Bill clause by clause in the order in which it is printed
but schedules will be taken with the clauses to which they relate.
I have also assumed that all amendments must be moved as the clauses
are reached since each clause will be treated as standing part
of the Bill once it has been reached and all consideration has
been completed.
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