COMMONS AMENDMENT (Hansard, 2 November 1989)

§ Lord Northfield
My Lords, I should like to say a word about Amendment No. 18 and ask a question. It concerns an enormous power which is being taken by the Government. It is a power which the noble Lord, Lord Hesketh, said is to be taken to take account of what Lord Justice Taylor may find in his report. But it is a very wide power. If one looks to the beginning of Clause 5 it can be seen that this refers to the national membership scheme. The amendment as drafted provides that the scheme must include provision, to such effect, in relation to the admission of spectators to the premises, as the Secretary of State may specify in writing". Therefore, the Government are taking on the power to write statutory law, and not by statutory instrument or by any measure which is subject to parliamentary approval. It is quite extraordinary. To take the argument to the extreme, the Secretary of State could specify that people with black faces should not be admitted and people with green eyes should not be admitted. It is a wide power which could be used to implement any provision as regards the membership scheme without the approval of Parliament. Surely that cannot have been the intention.
As I understand it, this would also include the power to nullify some of the early part of the clause. Unless I am mistaken, it would give power to the Secretary of State to order in writing alterations to paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) to nullify the provisions already in the clause. In effect, it is an enormous power to vary the whole operation of this part of the clause. Can we therefore have an assurance either that I am reading this incorrectly or, if I am correct, that a statement will be made to Parliament concerning what the Government propose to put in writing and order to be added to the membership scheme? We cannot have a situation in which this power is put solely into the hands of the Secretary of State.

§ Lord Hesketh
My Lords, I spoke to this amendment while speaking to Amendment No. 16. The purpose of the amendment is to incorporate the flexibility in order to accommodate the report of Lord Justice Taylor. In order to accommodate the report changes may have to be introduced. Such changes would then become part of the scheme, which would then return to be considered by Parliament.

§ Lord Harris of Greenwich
My Lords, the noble Lord is really telling us that this form of words is being included in the Bill because the Government have chosen to legislate before receiving the final report from Lord Justice Taylor.