§ Petitions against private bills
§ 171A.—(1) Every petition against a private bill originating in this House to which paragraph (1) of Standing Order 163 (Presentation of bills) applies, and which is not a bill the examination of the petition for which has been adjourned until after the twentieth day of January, shall be presented on or before the thirtieth day of January; and every petition against any other private bill shall be presented not later than the tenth day after the first reading of the bill or, if the House is not sitting on that day, on or before the next day on which the House sits.
§ (2) This order shall not apply—
- (a) to any petition presented against a bill after it has been reported from a committee; or
- (b) to any petition against a personal bill; or
- (c) to any petition in which the petitioners complain of any amendment as proposed in a filled-up bill, or of any proposed additional provision or of any matter which has arisen during the progress of a bill before a committee.
§ The purpose of these Amendments is mainly to improve the drafting: the proposed new Order comes within this 559 category, as it merely makes a more logical arrangement of part of an existing Order. There is one Amendment of substance which is of considerable importance. In the case of Bills which propose to alter local authority boundaries there has never been, by a curious omission, any requirement for the promoters to deposit in this House copies of maps showing boundary changes. The Amendment to Standing Order No. 28 remedies this defect and is thus of interest to Members who may have constituency interests in local boundary Bills.
§ I also suggest that the House repeal two Standing Orders because they are obsolete.
§ Question put, and agreed to.