HL Deb 14 March 2002 vol 632 cc946-7

3.31 p.m.

The Lord Chancellor (Lord Irvine of Lairg)

My Lords, I beg to move the Motion standing in my name on the Order Paper.

Moved, That, pursuant to Standing Order 51, the following Lords be appointed to join with a committee of the Commons as the Joint Committee on Consolidation Bills:

  • L. Acton,
  • L. Brightman,
  • L. Campbell of Alloway,
  • L. Christopher,
  • V. Colville of Culross,
  • E. Dundee,
  • B. Fookes,
  • L. Hobhouse of Woodborough,
  • L. Janner of Braunstone,
  • B. Mallalieu,
  • L. Phillips of Sudbury,
  • L. Razzall;
That the committee have the power to agree with the committee of the Commons in the appointment of a chairman;

That the minutes of evidence taken before the committee from time to time be printed and, if the committee think fit, be delivered out; and

That a message be sent to the Commons to propose that the Joint Committee do meet on Tuesday 30th April at half-past four o'clock.—(The Lord Chancellor.)

Lord Renton

My Lords, while supporting the Motion, I seek the assistance of the noble and learned Lord the Lord Chancellor on two matters. First, consolidation is vital to the better understanding and to the making for clarity of our statute law, but in recent years there has been too little. Therefore, I ask the noble and learned Lord to invite the committee to do more consolidation than has been undertaken in recent years.

My second point is in relation to the penultimate phrase of the Motion. It says: That the minutes of evidence taken before the committee from time to time be printed and, if the committee think fit, be delivered out". I may be ignorant, but I have not heard that phrase used in an official document in my 56 years in Parliament. It has a grammatical defect. At least, a few years ago, I was taught that one does not put a preposition after a verb in a phrase. If that could be altered, this Motion would be phrased in better English.

The Lord Chancellor

My Lords, I entirely agree that consolidation Bills are vital for clarity. I know that sometimes it is said that there is too little consolidation. The noble Lord will recall that the noble and learned Lord, Lord Brightman, has asked questions on this subject from time to time. Although the Government believe in the importance of consolidation legislation, all governments have to give priority to the primary legislation that is required to give effect to the policies under which they were elected.

I too was brought up in the belief that sentences should not end with a preposition, but the word to which the noble Lord refers is in the middle of a sentence and before a semi-colon.

On Question, Motion agreed to.