§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the President of the Council if Her Majesty's Government will in future, when drafting legislation, make use of purpose clauses making clear the intentions of Parliament. [25524]
§ Mrs. Ann TaylorThere are some circumstances when the use of purpose clauses is appropriate, but the Government share the views of the Committee on the Preparation of Legislation in 1975 that they should be used "selectively and with caution" and the Hansard Society Commission on the Legislative Process in 1992 that
they should not be used as a general practice".The Government intend, through the publication of better explanatory material on Bills, to make clearer the background to legislation at the time it is introduced into Parliament. The Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons has recently reported on the proposed explanatory notes on Bills (Second Report 1997–98 HC 389).