§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the meaning of the reference to "the constitution" in paragraph 1 of Schedule 5 to the Scotland Bill. [HL195]
§ Lord SewelParagraph 1 of Schedule 5 to the Scotland Bill is intended to reserve to the Parliament of the United Kingdom competence to legislate about the constitution, subject to the exceptions contained in paragraphs 2 to 5 of that schedule. The reference to "the constitution" is intended to refer to the constitution of the United Kingdom and it is expressly stated to include the Crown, the succession to the Crown and a regency and the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It will however fall to be construed in the light of all of those paragraphs.