§
(" .—(1) This Act may be amended by order made by statutory instrument.
(2) An order under subsection (1) shall be laid in draft before, and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
(3) Before laying an order under this section, the Secretary of State shall carry out the procedures set out in—.
- (a) section 5(1)(a), (c), (d) and (e),
- (b) section 6(1) with the omission of the words "together with details of the matters specified in subsection (2)",
- (c) section 7, and
- (d) section 8,
above.").
§ The noble Lord said: Part of the explanation for the Bill, given at Second Reading, put me in mind of the musical show of, I believe, the 1950s—"Oklahoma". The rationale was that the Government feel that they have gone as far as they can in respect of the 1994 Act. I am sure that Members of the Committee will remember the character to whom I refer. In my study of the Bill, it occurred to me that that position may well arise in 10 or 11 years' time. Therefore, I propose that it should be possible to amend the Bill, when it becomes an Act, as the circumstances require. I beg to move.
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyFundamentally, the reason why the 1994 Act ran out of steam was because it could deal only with legislation up to and including the 1993–94 Session. Therefore, it had to run out of steam eventually. However, it also ran out of steam for other reasons. It was not possible to initiate a number of valuable projects which might have come under the scope of regulatory reform orders because the Act, was drawn too tightly. We have now introduced a Bill with wide powers and extensive safeguards, and we believe that it will have a longer shelf life than the 1994 Act.
§ Lord SkelmersdaleThe proof of the pudding will, of course, be in the eating. I hope that in 10 or 12 years' time the noble Lord will be in a position to chew over and reflect upon what he has said this evening. That said, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
§ Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
§ [Amendment No. 80 not moved.]
§ Clause 14 agreed to.
§ Clause 15 [Short title and extent]:
§ [Amendment No. 81 not moved.]
§ Clause 15 agreed to.
§ House resumed: Bill reported with an amendment.