§ 11.6 a.m.
§ The Joint Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sir Hugh Lucas-Tooth)I beg to move, in page 1, line 6, to leave out "passing," and to insert "commencement."
There are four Amendments on the Order Paper which really all hang together. It might be convenient, therefore, if we discuss them together, as I do not think it is possible to deal with them separately. Clause 2 of the Bill provides that new regulations may be made about the method of verifying applications for cremation. The purpose of that is to do away with the need for a statutory declaration in this connection. Of course, the regulations cannot be made until the Bill becomes law, and under the procedure laid down in the principal Act they do not become effective until 40 days after they have been laid before Parliament.
The result of that, of course, would mean that under the Bill as drafted there would be a gap between the time of its becoming law and of the new regulations coming into force. During that gap there would be at least a doubt about the legal position regarding verification of applications. It would not be certain whether the existing regulations would still be effective having regard to the fact that the Bill would be on the Statute 842 Book, because there could be no new regulations to take their place. These Amendments are designed to cover that possible gap.
In the first place, it is proposed that the procedure of the 1902 Act, by which regulations do not come into force until 40 days after they are laid, should be altered so as to become the normal procedure under which regulations come into effect immediately subject to negative resolution procedure of the House. In the second place, it is proposed to provide that the rest of the Bill should not come into force until three months after the Bill passes into law.
The result of that will be that there will be time to make and to lay regulations and that such regulations will be capable of coming into effect on the same day that the Bill becomes an Act. As regards the Amendments, the first two on page 1 of the Bill are paving Amendments, that on page 2, line 6, changes the procedure regarding the regulations, and that on page 2, line 36, delays the date of commencement of the Act.
§ Mr. Joseph Reeves (Greenwich)I am pleased, as are many of my hon. Friends, that the weaknesses in the original draft of the Bill were discovered in time to, make the necessary changes on Report. The proposed Amendments have our whole-hearted support.
§ Question put, and agreed to.
§ Further Amendment made: In page 1, line 15, leave out "passing" and insert commencement."—[Sir H. Lucas-Tooth.]