Materials on Legislation
| DOI | 10.1093/slr/3.1.59 |
| Pages | 59-61 |
| Date | 01 March 1982 |
| Year | 1982 |
| Published By | Oxford University Press |
Materials on Legislation
Philip
Norton, "The House of Commons and
the
Constitution:
The Challenges
of
the
1970s" (1981) 34 Partiarmtay Affim 253-271.
This is a study of constitutional issues in the 1970s where "in response to
political, economic and social pressures, a number of solutions to current
problems began to assume a constitutional dimension." While external
changes limited the
formal
powers of the House of Commons, internal changes
"have resulted in a more effective use of the remaining powers, serving... to
change to some degree the relationship between die House and that part of it
which forms the government"
The main internal, structural change discussed starts widi die
1978
report of
die Procedure Committee, recommending die reorganisation of die select
committee structure, traces die developments leading to the setting up of
the
new committees in November 1979, and summarises
in
general terms
die work
of
these
committees in 1980, noting "die much higher profile adopted by die
committees and their greater willingness to press government to take action
(as,
for example, die Home Aflairs Committee on die matter of die
'sus'
law").
The last-mentioned feature is attributed to die committees' broad terms of
reference and to "a greater willingness on die part of die members of die
committees to be scrutineers of executive policy and actions."
The Study of Parliament
Group,
"Private Bill Procedure: A Case
for
Reform"
[1981]
Public
Law 206-227.
This article was compiled by a study group drawn from die academics and
Parliamentary officials who make up die Study of Parliament Group. It
commences by referring to die original concept of a private Bill—limited in its
scope, and subject to a quasi-judicial adversary procedure if opposed'—and to
personal Bills, which are now rare, while private Bilk are sponsored by public
bodies of many different kinds. While local audiority Bills are in a minority,
dieir length and complexity cause die greatest difficulty, because of compari-
son widi odier local audiority legislation and of consultations between county
and district councils. The article proceeds to consider die complexities caused
by die boundary alterations under die Local Government Act 1972 (c 70) and
die resulting need for rationalisation Bills, containing provisions of four
types—matters of general concern, purely local matters, statutory under-
lings and fresh local audiority ideas. Next, die article deals widi die intri-
cacies of die procedure for presenting local Bills.
On possible action by Members on die floor of die House, die article gives
recent instances of motions for an Instruction to
die
Committee
to
omit
a
clause
in a private Bill and for committal of
a
clause to a Committee of die Whole
House, die
latter
proposal being unique but quickly
followed.
The Chairman of
Ways and Means did not favour such committal motions pointing to die
balance between die procedure for private Bill committee hearings and me
right of members to reject a Bill, to give instructions to die committee or to
amend a Bill on report, and arguing that diis balance would be disturbed by
interposing anodier procedural stage parties would not be heard, unless
59
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