Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Wednesday Volume 686 30 December 2020 No. 155 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Wednesday 30 December 2020 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2020 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 503 30 DECEMBER 2020 504 House of Commons Virtual Participation in Proceedings during the Pandemic (Temporary Orders) (No. 2) Wednesday 30 December 2020 Motion made, and Question proposed, That the Order of 4 June, as amended on 22 October, be further amended as follows: The House met at half-past Nine o’clock (1) leave out paragraph (1) and insert: “( ) Members may participate in proceedings in the Chamber PRAYERS by electronic means approved by the Speaker and in accordance with any scheme drawn up and published by the Speaker; ( ) for the purposes of paragraph (1) “proceedings” includes [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] proceedings on Questions, Urgent Questions and Statements, participation in debate (including moving a motion) and presentation Speaker’s Statement of petitions but does not include divisions, challenging the decision of Chair as to the decision of a Question, or proceedings for which no notice is required, with the exception of any motion Mr Speaker: Before I start, can I just mention the made in accordance with Standing Order No. 44 (Order in sad loss of a friend of all of us, Brian Binley? Our debate).” thoughts and prayers are with his family. (2) Leave out paragraph (2).—(Mr Rees-Mogg.) Before we come to the first item of business, could I thank all the staff of the House service and the joint 9.36 am departments who have worked hard to make this recall possible? Like many public servants, many of those Valerie Vaz (Walsall South) (Lab): Can I thank the staff have worked with hardly a break at a time when Leader of the House for bringing forward this motion? one would normally be expected. In my own office, we It is a really important motion. I am slightly disappointed were working very late Christmas eve, Boxing day and —it just shows the Government’s desperate incompetence all the way through. There are staff in this House who —that the Leader of the House chose to announce on have not had a break. Please bear that in mind. I hope social media that he was bringing forward this motion, that any consideration of timings of the House proposed and did not cc Opposition Members into the letter to in the new year is considered in the context of the the Procedure Committee. I want to thank the Chair of additional burden that has been placed on staff. the Procedure Committee, the right hon. Member for Staffordshire Moorlands (Karen Bradley), and the whole Due to the current severe public health situation, Committee for all their hard work in listening to Members’ every effort has been made to enable today’s proceedings concerns and bringing forward their voice on this. May to take place with the bare minimum level of travel to I say, though, that it was wrong for the Leader of the and attendance at Westminster. I will shortly call a House to pitch out hon. Members who were doing their Minister to move the motion that will allow a welcome duty by public health—those who, for example, had to return to virtual participation in debate for today and stay at home looking after people with covid-19, which for the new year. I should inform hon. Members that is sweeping our nations—and who did the right thing? when a speaking limit is in effect for Back Benchers, a Now every single voice of every single hon. Member countdown clock will be visible on the screens of hon. can be heard ring out, subject to your call list, Mr Members participating virtually and on the screens in Speaker, so Her Majesty’s Opposition wholeheartedly the Chamber. For hon. Members participating physically support this motion. in the Chamber, the usual clock in the Chamber will operate. 9.37 am BILL PRESENTED The Leader of the House of Commons (Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg): I am very grateful for the support of the EUROPEAN UNION (FUTURE RELATIONSHIP)BILL right hon. Member for Walsall South (Valerie Vaz) for Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57) this motion. As London has gone into tier 4, it is Michael Gove, supported by the Prime Minister, the obviously important that we move with the country at Chancellor of the Exchequer, Secretary Dominic Raab, large. However, I do not want to eat further into the Secretary Priti Patel, Secretary Alok Sharma, the Attorney time available for today’s important debate. General, Penny Mordaunt and Julia Lopez, presented a Bill to implement, and make other provision in connection 9.37 am with, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement; to make further provision in connection with the United Kingdom’s Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) (SNP): I just want to future relationship with the EU and its member States; say that we also welcome the return of full virtual to make related provision about passenger name record participation. I think it is regrettable that the Government data, customs and privileges and immunities; and for have not given us remote voting. That means there are connected purposes. twice as many SNP MPs here today as there otherwise might have been, so I want to thank my hon. Friends Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time today, the Members for Glasgow East (David Linden) and for and to be printed (Bill 236) with explanatory notes (Bill Midlothian (Owen Thompson), who will act as Tellers 236-EN). for us later today. They would not have had to be here if we had had electronic voting. Mr Speaker: Leader of the House,anyfurther comments? No. 505 Virtual Participation in Proceedings 30 DECEMBER 2020 506 during the Pandemic Question put and agreed to. European Union (Future Relationship) Bill: Virtual participation in proceedings commenced (Order, Business of the House 4 June and this day). [NB: [V] denotes a Member participating virtually.] Mr Speaker: Before I call the Leader of the House to move the motion, I should inform the House that I have selected the amendment to the motion in the name of Ian Blackford. 9.38 am The Leader of the House of Commons (Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg): I beg to move, That the following provisions shall apply to the proceedings on the European Union (Future Relationship) Bill: Timetable (1) (a) Proceedings on Second Reading and in Committee of the whole House, any proceedings on Consideration and proceedings on Third Reading shall be taken at today’s sitting in accordance with this Order. (b) Notices of Amendments, new Clauses or new Schedules to be moved in Committee of the whole House may be accepted by the Clerks at the Table before the Bill has been read a second time. (c) Proceedings on Second Reading, proceedings in Committee of the whole House, any proceedings on Consideration and proceedings on Third Reading shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion at 2.30pm Timing of proceedings and Questions to be put (2) As soon as the proceedings on the Motion for this Order have been concluded, the Order for the Second Reading of the Bill shall be read. (3) When the Bill has been read a second time: (a) it shall, despite Standing Order No. 63 (Committal of bills not subject to a programme order), stand committed to a Committee of the whole House without any Question being put; (b) proceedings on the Bill shall stand postponed while the Question is put, in accordance with Standing Order No. 52(1) (Money resolutions and ways and means resolutions in connection with bills), on any financial resolution relating to the Bill; (c) on the conclusion of proceedings on any financial resolution relating to the Bill, proceedings on the Bill shall be resumed and the Speaker shall leave the chair whether or not notice of an Instruction has been given. (4) (a) On the conclusion of proceedings in Committee of the whole House, the Chair shall report the Bill to the House without putting any Question. (b) If the Bill is reported with amendments, the House shall proceed to consider the Bill as amended without any Question being put. (5) For the purpose of bringing any proceedings to a conclusion in accordance with paragraph (1), the Chair or Speaker shall forthwith put the following Questions in the same order as they would fall to be put if this Order did not apply: (a) any Question already proposed from the chair; (b) any Question necessary to bring to a decision a Question so proposed; (c) the Question on any amendment, new Clause or new Schedule selected by the Chair or Speaker for separate decision; (d) the Question on any amendment moved or Motion made by a Minister of the Crown; (e) any other Question necessary for the disposal of the business to be concluded; and shall not put any other questions, other than the question on any motion described in paragraph (16)(a) of this Order. 507 European Union Bill: 30 DECEMBER 2020 European Union Bill: 508 Business of the House Business of the House (6) On a Motion so made for a new Clause or a new Schedule, the (17) (a) No dilatory Motion shall be made in relation to Chair or Speaker shall put only the Question that the Clause or proceedings to which this Order applies except by a Minister of Schedule be added to the Bill.