APPENDIX 2: PARLIAMENTARY VOTING SYSTEM
AND CONSTITUENCIES BILL
Supplementary memorandum by the Cabinet Office
INTRODUCTION
1. This supplementary memorandum has been prepared
for the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee ("the
DPRRC") to assist with its scrutiny of the Parliamentary
Voting System and Constituencies Bill ("the Bill").
It supplements the earlier memorandum that was prepared for the
DPRRC.
PURPOSE AND EFFECT OF THE BILL
2. The purpose and effect of the Bill are as described
in the Cabinet Office's initial memorandum to the DPRRC on this
Bill.
DELEGATED POWER
3. Clause 8(4): commencement or repeal of the alternative
vote provisions: power to make transitional or saving provision
Power conferred on: Lord President of the
Council or the Secretary of State
Power exercised by: order made by statutory instrument
Parliamentary procedure: no procedure
4. Clause 8 sets out the arrangements by which the
alternative vote provisions (namely clause 9 of and Schedule 10
and Part 1 of Schedule 11 to, the Bill) are to be brought into
force or repealed.
5. Clause 8(1) deals with the situation in which
a simple majority of votes in the referendum is cast in favour
of the alternative vote system becoming the voting system for
Westminster parliamentary elections. In those circumstances, the
alternative vote provisions can only be brought into force if
a draft of the Order in Council bringing into force the new constituencies
arrangements envisaged by Part 2 of the Bill has been submitted
to Her Majesty in Council. By contrast, Clause 8(2) provides that
the alternative vote provisions must be repealed by order if a
majority of votes in the referendum are against implementing the
alternative vote.
6. The power in clause 8(4) to make transitional
or saving provision is available when an Order is made to commence
the alternative vote provisions. As is frequently the case with
a power to commence provisions by order, providing Ministers with
the ancillary power in clause 8(4) was considered both sensible
and necessary in order to ensure that the provisions can be implemented
in a range of circumstances without undesirable consequences.
For instance, if it is proposed to hold the proposed 2015 parliamentary
general election under AV in the event of a "yes" vote
it may be desirable to bring the AV provisions into force in advance
of that, provided that an Order in Council had been submitted
to Her Majesty in line with clause 8(1)(b). To commence the AV
provisions to this timescale may be highly beneficial: it would
give operational and administrative certainty about the provisions
that will govern that election and allow appropriate preparations
for the election to be started by electoral administrators in
good time before the election takes place. However, were a by-election
to be needed between this coming into force date and the 2015
general election Ministers may well wish to make a saving provision
to ensure that any such by-election should proceed under the First
Past the Post system.
7. The power in clause 8(4) enables strictly limited
provision to be made for the purposes of commencing certain provisions
in the Bill that themselves will have been previously debated
and approved by Parliament. In particular, the power does not
enable supplementary, incidental or consequential provision to
be made. Nor does it allow an Order made under it to amend or
modify any other enactment. Consequently, it is not an unusual
extension of a power to commence provisions of the Bill by Order.
For each and all of these reasons, we did not consider that it
was necessary to attach any parliamentary procedure to the use
of this power.
Cabinet Office
November 2010
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