HL Deb 26 February 1946 vol 139 cc885-6

Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee read.

Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee.—(The Lord Chancellor.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.

House in Committee accordingly:

(The LORD STANMORE in the Chair.)

Clauses 1 and 2 agreed to.

Clause 3:

Supplementary provisions as to Orders.

—(1) No Order in Council which provides for the dissolution of a Government Department shall be made under this Act unless, after copies of the draft thereof have been laid before Parliament, each House presents an Address to His Majesty praying that the Order be made.

(2) An Order in Council under this Act, not being an Order made in pursuance of such an Address as aforesaid, shall not come into operation until copies thereof have been laid before Parliament, and if either House, within the period of forty days beginning with the day on ii hick a copy thereof is laid before it, resolves that the Order in Council be annulled it shall thenceforth -become void but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder or to the making of a new Order.

3.10 p.m

The LORD CHANCELLOR moved, in subsection (2), to leave out "the Order in Council be annulled it shall thenceforth become void but," and insert an Address be presented to His Majesty praying that the Order in Council be annulled, no further proceedings shall be taken thereunder after the date of the resolution, and His Majesty may by Order in Council revoke the Order, so, however, that any such resolution and revocation shall be. The noble and learned Lord said: The Amendment which is down in my name, I may explain to your Lordships, is substantially the same as the Amendment which is down in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Llewellin. The difference is so slight that I am really hardly able to appreciate what it is, but the draftsman tells me my form is slightly better than his. It is really a mere matter of drafting. The object is to carry out the undertaking which I gave to the noble and 'learned Viscount, Lord Simon, on the Second Reading, and to carry out the procedure which Lord Llewellin really initiated on the Second Reading. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 3, line 6, leave out from ("that") to ("without") in line 7, and insert the said new words.—(The Lord Chancellor.)

LORD LLEWELLIN

I am very much obliged to the Lord Chancellor for putting down an Amendment that slightly alters mine. It was quite clear, when this Bill had a Second Reading, that we, between us, would have to bring it into line with the alterations we made in the Statutory Instruments Bill, and the Lord Chancellor has now moved this Amendment to do so. I thank him for doing this and, at the same time would say that his Amendment is some improvement on mine, and therefore I do not propose to move my Amendment.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 3, as amended, agreed to.

Remaining Clauses agreed to.

Schedules agreed to.