Private Members' Bills

HC Deb 14 June 1994 vol 244 c331W

Ms Lynne

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what occasions since April 1992 Ministers from his Department have(a) requested parliamentary counsel to assist in preparing amendments to private Members' Bills on behalf of other private Members and (b) authorised officials to instruct parliamentary counsel to prepare amendments which were subsequently passed to private Members.

Mr. Gummer

Parliamentary counsel drafts not on behalf of private Members but on the instructions of Departments acting on the authority of Ministers.

With the authority of Ministers, amendments were drafted by counsel on instructions from my Department and subsequently passed to private Members in respect of the following private Members' Bills:

• the Local Government (Overseas Assistance) Bill;
• the Noise and Statutory Nuisance Bill;
• the Hedgerows Bill;
• the Energy Conservation Bill.

Amendments to the Civil Rights (Disabled Persons) Bill on matters of concern to my Department were drafted by parliamentary counsel on instructions from the Department of Social Security with the assistance of officials from my Department and subsequently passed to a private Member.

Ministers have authorised officials to instruct parliamentary counsel to prepare amendments to the following Bills which were subsequently passed to Peers:

• the Local Government (Overseas Assistance) Bill;
• the New Towns (Amendment) Bill;
• the National Parks Bill.