HL Deb 17 March 1949 vol 161 cc540-2WA
VISCOUNT SIMON

asked His Majesty's Government why it is intended to alter the existing arrangements by which no Statutory Instrument, to which the provisions of Section 4 of the Act of 1946 apply, is sent to the Stationery Office for printing until it has in fact been laid before this House and has received from this House, or from the other House if laid before it at a later date, the date to be printed on the Instrument as the date of laying; and if they are satisfied that there will be no risk of Instruments being published with a statement that they have been laid on a certain date, when in fact they have been laid on a different date, or not at all; or any risk that, if an Instrument is laid before the Lords and Commons on different dates, it will be published with a statement that it has been laid before Parliament on any date other than the second of such two dates.

THE MINISTER OF CIVIL AVIATION (LORD PAKENHAM)

The answer to the first part of the question is, that as the procedure for laying Instruments before this House is now regulated by a Standing Order similar to that in force in another place and that as the date of laying before both Houses can now be forecast accurately, it is proposed that the arrangements should be altered to eliminate as far as possible the delays which sometimes occurred between the laying of an Instrument before this House and its availability to noble Lords. By beginning the final printing of the Instrument in advance of the date of laying, the time between laying and publication will be reduced—in the case of long Orders and Schedules by several days. The answer to the second part of the question is that it is, of course, appreciated that the new arrangement will lay on Departments the absolute duty of ensuring that Instruments are duly laid on the date named on the printed copies, but it is considered that the reduction of the time between laying and publication constitutes an overwhelming case for its adoption. The House can rest assured that all the Departments concerned will take the greatest care to ensure that Statutory Instruments are duly laid.

House adjourned at five minutes past seven o'clock.