ACTS OF THE NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY (Hansard, 18 November 1998)

§ Mr. Paul Murphy
I beg to move, That this House agrees with the Lords in the said amendment.

Mr. Deputy Speaker
With this, it will be convenient to discuss Lords amendments Nos. 3 to 24, 26 and 271.

§ Mr. Murphy
The amendments provide a group of miscellaneous changes to part H of the Bill, which concerns legislative powers. They are, again, mostly of technical or drafting significance. I draw attention to two sets of amendments, both of which are based on the Scotland Bill. There are provisions, starting with amendment No. 11, to permit the Northern Ireland Assembly to regulate fishing in a Northern Ireland zone, and to allow it jurisdiction over Northern Ireland-licensed boats beyond that, which is the matter to which my hon. Friend the Member for Greenock and Inverclyde (Dr. Godman) referred earlier.
Amendment No. 11 relates to clause 6, and provides that Her Majesty may by Order in Council"— subject to affirmative resolution at Westminster— specify functions which are to be treated … as … exercisable in or as regards Northern Ireland. That is one of several amendments throughout the Bill to permit the Northern Ireland authorities to regulate fishing in a Northern Ireland zone. The designation of the zone is provided for under amendment No. 219, and the Northern Ireland authorities could be given power as respects Northern Ireland-licensed boats, even outside the zone. The amendments parallel arrangements in the Scotland Bill.
There is also a procedure by which the Assembly can reconsider a Bill that has been referred to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council under clause 10, and which the Committee has then referred to the European Court.

§ The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mr. Adam Ingram)
I beg to move, That this House agrees with the Lords in the said amendment.

Mr. Deputy Speaker
With this, it will be convenient to discuss Lords amendments Nos. 57 to 61.

§ Mr. Ingram
The amendments have two purposes: first, to ensure that the interests of defence, national security, public order and public safety are properly safeguarded under the new devolved arrangements in Northern Ireland and, secondly, to protect the operation of the single market in goods and services across the United Kingdom.
Amendment No. 25 provides that the Secretary of State may decline to submit an Assembly Bill for Royal Assent if she considers it to be incompatible with any international obligations, the interests of defence or national security, the protection of public safety or public order, or with the operation of the UK single market. Amendment No. 60 is closely related, and gives the Secretary of State power to revoke subordinate legislation for the same reasons.
Hon. Members will want to be aware that the Scotland Bill also contains provisions for ensuring that legislation meets international obligations and safeguards national security, so the amendments make the Bill compatible with the Scotland Bill, although the provisions are not directly equivalent.
It is worth while outlining the important principle of the single market in goods and services across the United Kingdom. Under European Community law, the Assembly and Northern Ireland Ministers will be required to meet obligations under EC single market legislation in transferred areas; that will include not discriminating against goods and services from any other member state of the European Union.
Community legislation enforces a single market between EU member states, but not necessarily within each member state. The amendments seek to fill that gap, since it is only right that goods and services from England, Wales and Scotland should be treated no less favourably than those from other EU member states.
Amendments Nos. 57 and 58 deal with the Secretary of State's power to direct that certain action be taken by Ministers or Departments or to direct that proposed action is not taken. When the Bill left the House previously, clause 20 enabled the Secretary of State to exercise that power only to comply with international obligations. The amendments extend that responsibility so that the interests of defence, national security, public order and public safety are also protected.
The Government consider the amendments to be important and necessary. It is a vital responsibility of Government to safeguard the interests of defence and national security and to protect public order and public safety. That responsibility extends throughout the United Kingdom and will continue to do so after devolution of powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly. The amendments ensure that the Secretary of State has a means of continuing to discharge her responsibilities in respect of those matters after devolution.
Although I of course hope that no situation would ever arise in which the interests of defence, national security, public order or public safety were in danger of being 1020 compromised, the nature of the subjects is such that it would be entirely inappropriate even to leave open that possibility. The consequences are potentially too serious. The amendments would allow the Secretary of State to act speedily if an urgent issue were to arise.
Clearly, it is not possible to describe all the circumstances in which such an issue may arise. Many areas to be governed by Assembly legislation will need to contain ancillary provisions on national security. For example, orders as diverse as the Litter Order 1993, the Food Safety Order 1991 and the Electricity Order 1991 have included provisions such as an override of the powers of entry to protect sensitive areas. We need to ensure that proper provisions continue to be made in that wide-ranging field.
I emphasise to the House that those provisions, by their very nature, will be used by the Government only as a last resort. If an issue were to arise which caused concern, every effort would be made to resolve it through consultation with the Northern Ireland Administration. If, and only if, that were not possible would the Secretary of State use that power of direction. Nevertheless, for the reasons that I have outlined, it is important that such a power is available. I commend the amendments to the House.