HL Deb 13 December 2001 vol 629 cc1483-5

66 After Clause 124, insert the following new clause— "EXPIRY

  1. (1) This Act, apart from Part 12, shall (subject to subsections (2) to (5)) cease to have effect at the end of the period of one year beginning with the day on which the Act receives Royal Assent.
  2. (2) The Secretary of State may, subject to subsections (3) to (5), by order provide—
    1. (a) that a provision of the Act which is in force (whether or not by virtue of this subsection) shall continue in force for a specified period not exceeding twelve months;
    2. (b) that a provision of this Act shall cease to have effect;
    3. (c) that a provision of this Act which is not in force (whether or not by virtue of this subsection) shall come into force and remain in force for a specified period not exceeding twelve months.
  3. (3) Parts 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 14 of this Act shall, by virtue of this subsection, cease to have effect at the end of the period of five years beginning with the day on which this Act is passed.
  4. (4) Parts 3, 5, 10, 11 and 13 of this Act shall, by virtue of this subsection, cease to have effect at the end of the period of two years beginning with the day on which this Act is passed.
  5. (5) Part 4 of this Act shall, by virtue of this subsection, cease to have effect at the end of the period of one year beginning with the day on which this Act is passed.
    6. 1484
  6. (6) Any order made by the Secretary of State under subsection (2) must be made by statutory instrument and may not be made unless a draft has been laid before and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament."

The Commons disagreed to this amendment but proposed the following amendment in lieu thereof: 66A Before Clause 121, insert the following new Clause— "REVIEW OF ACT

  1. (1) The Secretary of State shall appoint a committee to conduct a review of this Act.
  2. (2) He must seek to secure that at any time there are riot fewer than seven members of the committee.
  3. (3) A person may be a member of the committee only if he is a member of the Privy Council.
  4. (4) The committee shall complete the review and send a report to the Secretary of State not later than the end of two years beginning with the day on which this Act is passed.
  5. (5) The Secretary of State shall lay a copy of the report before Parliament as soon as is reasonably practicable.
  6. (6) The Secretary of State may make payments to persons appointed as members of the committee."

Lord Rooker had given notice of his intention to move, That the House do not insist on their Amendment No. 66 to which the Commons have disagreed and do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 66A in lieu thereof, with the following amendment to Amendment No. 66A— 66AA After subsection (5) insert— ( ) The Secretary of State shall also lay before Parliament, as soon as is reasonably practicable, a statement as to—

  1. (a) his views on the report, and
  2. (b) what action (if any) he proposes to take in response to it ."

The noble Lord said: My Lords, I am getting better at the procedures in this place, but they are still a mystery to me. I understand that it may be possible to reach agreement to deal with the concerns raised on the clause. I therefore do not propose to move Amendment No. 66AA. The debate should therefore take place on Amendment. No. 66B. If the wording of what I have just read out means exactly what it says, I do not think that there is much room for a debate, because there is a possibility of reaching agreement to deal with the issue.

I beg to move that the House do not insist on their Amendment No. 66 to which the Commons have disagreed.

Moved, That the House do not insist on their Amendment No. 66 to which the Commons have disagreed.—(Lord Rooker.) 66B Lord Dixon-Smith rose to move, as an amendment to the Motion that this House do not insist on their Amendment No. 66 to which the Commons have disagreed, leave out the words after "House" and insert "do insist on their Amendment No. 66 to which the Commons have disagreed and do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 66A".

The noble Lord said: My Lords, things may be going on elsewhere, but we still need to create an environment in which those things can continue. To do that, we have to ensure that the sun will set on this Bill.

We may have sounded last post some time ago, and the sun may indeed have gone down, but I understand that the clock has stopped in another place.

We have to include this sunset clause. We have very thoroughly debated it all before, including the procedures under which we have had to consider the Bill perforce. We want the legislation as much as the Government do. As the Bill is not wholly satisfactory, however, this sunset clause is justified. I do not intend to waste the time of the House. I beg to move.

Moved, as an amendment to the Motion that this House do not insist on their Amendment No. 66 to which the Commons have disagreed, leave out the words after "House" and insert "do insist on their Amendment No. 66 to which the Commons have disagreed and do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 66A".—(Lord Dixon-Smith.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.

Viscount Bledisloe

My Lords, I think, subject to your Lordships' guidance, I can hardly move Amendment No. 66C because it would amend Amendment No. 66A, which has not been moved. I hate to make a suggestion to the Chair, but I see that those who are at the Table are nodding.

All I shall say, as I have been allowed to get to my feet, is that I hope that at some stage I may be informed of what those secret conclaves are deciding so that I know what to do with my amendment at a later stage. I think that I am out of order, but it is not my fault.

Lord Dixon-Smith

My Lords, I thought that the only amendment that had been moved and spoken to was Amendment No. 66B. However, I thought that the Lord Chairman said Amendment No. 66A when he stood up, which is unfortunate.

The Deputy Speaker (Lord Skelmersdale)

My Lords, it was clearly not moved.

Lord Rooker

My Lords. I may be wrong, but I think that we have agreed to Amendment No. 66B without a vote. It was agreed without a vote on the basis that discussions are taking place elsewhere. So as far as I am concerned, this House has concluded its consideration of the Commons Amendments.