HL Deb 28 July 1997 vol 582 cc10-2WA
Lord Lester of Herne Hill

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will give effect to the recommendation made in the Report of the Hansard Society Commission on the Legislative Process (November 1992) that the Legislation Committee of the Cabinet should be given the role of ensuring that Bills conform with the best constitutional principles and, where appropriate, that they are prepared after full and genuine consultation; and

Whether they will give effect to the recommendation made in the Report of the Hansard Society Commission on the Legislative Process that there should be a two-year legislative programme; and

Whether they will give effect to the recommendation made in the Report of the Hansard Society Commission on the Legislative Process that proper consultation should play a central part in the preparation of Bills and that all government departments should act accordingly; and

Whether they will give effect to the recommendation made in the Report of the Hansard Society Commission on the Legislative Process that early consultation on the policy content of secondary legislation should become a more regular practice, and draft rules and regulations should be circulated to all interested bodies (allowing adequate time for comment) in every case; and

Whether they will give effect to the recommendation made in the Report of the Hansard Society Commission on the Legislative Process that, for every Act of Parliament, Notes on Sections, explaining the purpose and intended effect of each Section (and Schedule) should be prepared by government departments (with the assistance of Parliamentary Counsel) by up-dating the Notes on Clauses (and Notes on Amendments) prepared for Ministers, and publishing the Notes on Sections at the same time as Acts; and

Whether they will give effect to the recommendation made in the Report of the Hansard Society Commission on the Legislative Process that full explanatory notes to draft statutory instruments should be made available and, where one instrument makes amendment to another, the amended provision should, wherever possible, be repealed and restated in the later instrument; and

Whether they will give effect to the recommendation made in the Report of the Hansard Society Commission on the Legislative Process that, wherever possible, statutes' sections or subsections which have been heavily amended should be repealed and restated, thus reducing the need for a reference back to earlier provisions; and

Whether they will give effect to the recommendation made in the Report of the Hansard Society Commission on the Legislative Process to make Notes on Clauses in Government Bills regularly available from the sponsoring government department, the Stationery Office and Parliament, or alternatively, printed on the page facing the Clause; and

Whether they will give effect to the recommendation made in the Report of the Hansard Society Commission on the Legislative Process that Ministerial responsibility for the work of parliamentary counsel, and particularly for the oversight of drafting methods employed and the scrutiny of all government bills, should be assigned to the Attorney-General.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

The Legislation Committee of the Cabinet has the role of examining all draft Bills before they are introduced and satisfies itself that Bills conform with good legislative practice and with the Government's international obligations.

The Government recognise the advantages of repealing and re-enacting provisions that have been subject to heavy textual amendment and, where practicable, aim to bring forward amendments which have been framed in that way.

Although they recognise that it will not be practicable to do so in every case, the Government are committed to improving consultation on legislation and have already announced that seven substantial Bills, more than ever before in a single session, are to be drafted and consulted upon during the course of this session, for introduction in the second or a subsequent session. The Government intend to build on this approach in the future. Other methods of consulting on policy intended to lead to legislation are also used, separately or in parallel, such as the publication of Green and White Papers. The Government also favour consultation on delegated legislation, for the good reasons advanced by the Commission, although it may not be practicable in every case.

The purpose of Notes on Clauses is to provide information to Ministers about the content and drafting of individual clauses. As the Commission's report recognised, it has become common practice for them to be made available. This is usually achieved by giving copies to members of the Standing Committee and placing copies in the Vote Office and House Libraries. They are generally revised for use in the second House if the Bill has been amended in the first House. The reasons for substantive amendments to the Bills are generally explained during the course of parliamentary debate.

The Hansard Committee's proposal for Notes on Sections is one example of how explanatory material on Acts of Parliament can be improved. The Government would like to achieve such an improvement, but before reaching a conclusion on how best to do so, they wish to take account of any views the Select Committee on the Modernisation of the House of Commons may express on this issue.

The Government have no plans to change the arrangements for Ministerial responsibility for the work of parliamentary counsel.