HC Deb 20 June 1944 vol 401 cc33-5W
Sir A. Gridley

asked the Prime Minister whether he has any further statement to make on the subject of a modified system for the Parliamentary Review of Ministerial Orders which was forecast in the White Paper on a National Water Policy.

The Prime Minister

As forecast in the White Paper on a National Water Policy (Cmd. 6515) the Government will, in the course of their reconstruction programme, ask Parliament for power to make Orders for certain purposes which in normal circumstances would be dealt with by private or Provisional Order Bill; and Orders of this kind will require special procedure for securing effective Parliamentary control in matters affecting the rights of individuals. Instances of the kind of Order for which such a review would be appropriate were given in that paper, namely Orders dealing with the compulsory amalgamation and combination of undertakings, alteration of limits of supply, scheduling of areas for water conservation, and the compulsory purchase of water rights; but many other instances will be thrown up by ocher reconstruction legislation, including various types of Orders (mainly relating to statutory undertakers) for which provision is intended to be made in the forthcoming Bill dealing with Town and Country Planning.

For these Orders the procedure by way of Provisional Order Confirmation Bill, with its numerous stages, is unduly cumbrous in view of the urgency of the reconstruction period. On the other hand, if the Orders were merely laid before Parliament subject to annulment by a resolution moved by a Member, there would be no room for the entertainment of objections from private interests affected, objections which would often be based on evidence of a technical character. Accordingly the Government have under consideration a proposal, upon which they will wish in due course to take the sense of Parliament, for a fresh system of Parliamentary review of Orders combining certain features of each of the present systems.

The Orders in question have something in common with hybrid Bills in that they will give effect to decisions of national policy and at the same time affect private rights"; and the main object of the new system would be to secure that the question of national policy if challenged, should be determined on the floor of the House, and that subject thereto the interests of private persons affected should be considered by a procedure corresponding to the procedure on a private Bill.

Orders made subject to such new procedure would, after any local inquiry or other preliminary proceeding required by the relevant statute, be laid before both Houses of Parliament for a stated period, during which objection could be taken thereto either by negative resolution moved by a Member of the House or by petition. It would not, however, be open to petitioners, as it is on a Provisional Order Confirmation Bill, to petition against the main purpose of the Order. If any petitions were duly presented, the Order would stand referred to a Select Committee, which would normally be a joint committee of both Houses; the petitioners would be entitled to appear and be heard upon the particular matters raised by their petitions, and the committee would have power to amend the Order. The Order would thus normally be disposed of either within the original period for which it is laid or, if opposed in detail by private interests, after one Parliamentary stage. In two exceptional cases further proceedings would be required, namely:

  1. (1) If the Government found it necessary to ask Parliament to reconsider amendments made by the joint committee on the Order; and
  2. (2) Where for special reasons it was desired that an Order should be considered by separate committees of the Houses.

In these cases the situation would have to be met by the introduction of a Bill to which the Order would be scheduled, but the passage of such a Bill could be accelerated by the elimination of all except essential stages.

In the case of Orders relating to Scotland the procedure would probably be slightly different and related to that prescribed, in lieu of procedure by private Bill, by the Private Legislation Procedure (Scotland) Act, 1936, which makes provision for inquiry by Parliamentary Commissioners in Scotland.

These proposals have not yet been worked out in full, but it is intended to put a detailed scheme before Parliament as soon as possible. The Government contemplate that the new system should in due course replace the present system of provisional order confirmation Bills.