§ Mr. Powellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he has taken to meet the strictures passed upon his Department by the Examiner of Statutory Rules on page 5 of his Tenth Report presented in July 1978.
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§ Mr. Orme:The Examiner's suggestion was, as always, carefully considered but the procedure followed, as a matter of routine by my Department already includes, and goes much further than, that suggestion.
When my Department prepares a statutory instrument to which Northern Ireland will need a corresponding statutory rule a copy of the first and each successive draft is sent to the Northern Ireland Department as soon as it is produced. As soon as a proof is received from the printer a copy of that is sent. As soon as the instrument is made, normally by a Minister signing the corrected proof, and allocated a number by the Statutory Publications Office, a copy of it is sent; at the same time a copy goes to the printer. If, however, the Northern Ireland Department indicates in any particular case that it wishes to have the final text even before the instrument has been numbered, a copy is sent immediately on signature and information as to the number is given by telephone. In the nature of things, it is several days after copy goes to the printer before the final prints are available and at least one more—depending on the post—before a copy arrives in Northern Ireland. Exactly the same procedure is followed with draft instruments laid for affirmative resolution.
According to the Examiner's report the difficulty arises because the Northern Ireland Department considers it inadvisable to proceed until it receives a copy of the final print. His suggestion that an advance copy of the final draft be sent, which is already part of the established procedure, does nothing to meet that difficulty. Consultation with the Northern Ireland Department has disclosed no way in which our procedure could be revised to give information on which that Department could act at an earlier stage than now happens, but if the Examiner or the right hon. Gentleman has any suggestion to make I shall gladly consider it.