§ Captain OrrI beg to move Amendment No. 5, in page 5, line 29, leave out subsection (3).
Mr. Deputy SpeakerWith this we are to take also Amendment No. 30, in page 5, line 33, leave out subsections (4) and (5).
§ Captain OrrAgain, this is simply a peg to get an undertaking from the Government.
This clause deals with the parliamentary control of measures connected with accepted or reserved matters. All I want to know from the Government is that the urgency procedure will be handled in a responsible manner.
We have suffered a good deal through the period of what I might call the interregnum when Orders in Council 342 have been put before this House under the urgency procedure and where those orders are already well under way or, as far as their implementation is concerned, impossible to retrieve if this House decides that they are undesirable. An example is Orders in Council governing rules under which the Assembly was elected—rules that were implemented before the House had decided whether they were right or not.
All I want from my hon. Friend is a statement that this kind of proceeding will be used with the greatest possible care in future and that we will not, if it is at all possible, be faced with an irretrievable situation so that, when we have to approve transferred matters as a result of orders in the Assembly, if they are ever made we should be able to see whether or not an order is to our liking, and not find that the process is under way and we are only a rubber stamp.
§ 8.0 p.m.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Peter Mills)I am grateful to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Down, South (Captain Orr) for the way in which he has moved the amendment. As usual, he is looking carefully at all legislation and probing it. But the effect of the amendment would be to remove from the Bill the urgency procedure, which would be a serious matter.
Great care will, of course, be used under this clause—that is obvious—but the Government believe that it is important to have good government and speedy government when problems exist. It may be that financial matters urgently require this clause, that sudden urgent legislation is needed, and possibly the recess could be a delaying factor. Therefore, we believe that the clause should be retained, because it will help to avoid the parliamentary recess difficulty and deal with matters that need urgent attention.
Subsection (4) provides that the Secretary of State must lay the measure before Parliament after approval, so that there will be time for debate. If my hon. and gallant Friend will ask leave to withdraw the amendment, I can assure him that great care will be taken. This provision is necessary for good and speedy government in certain circumstances.
§ Captain OrrThe Under-Secretary has said almost exactly what I wanted him to say. The Government must be aware that this is a procedure that it would be undesirable to use too frequently and irresponsibly. I fully accept that the amendment would deny the urgency procedure altogether. That was not my intention. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.