This page was last edited at 1705 GMT London saturday 4 October 2008
The following is a relevant item of evidence from the HANSARD report of what Tom HARRIS had said. We shall show that his utterances concerned WERE LIES. Or idiocies. Or both. And worse...
[To be continue ed]
"
23 Oct 2007 : Column 188
Crossrail Bill (Carry-over)
[Relevant document: First Special Report of the Crossrail Bill Committee, Session 2006-07, on the Crossrail Bill, HC 235.]
4.50 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. Tom Harris): I beg to move,
That further proceedings on the Crossrail Bill shall be suspended until the next Session of Parliament:
That if a Bill is presented in the next Session in the same terms as those in which the Crossrail Bill stood when proceedings on it were suspended in this Session—
(a) the Bill shall be ordered to be printed and shall be deemed to have been read the first time and second time; and
(b) the Bill shall be deemed to have been reported from the Select Committee and to have been re-committed to a Public Bill Committee; and
(c) the Standing Orders and practice of the House applicable to the Bill, so far as complied with or dispensed with in this Session or in the Session 2005-06 or 2004-05 shall be deemed to have complied with or (as the case may be) dispensed with in the next Session.
That these Orders be Standing Orders of the House.
This motion is technical in nature, and will ensure that the Crossrail Bill continues into the next Session. If enacted, the Bill will allow for the construction of the scheme. It is a hybrid Bill. It was introduced on 22 February 2005 and received its Second Reading on 19 July 2005 with a majority of 375. The Select Committee, ably chaired by my hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Mr. Meale), commenced its work on 17 January 2006 and completed its—unenviable—task on 16 October 2007, having convened for an impressive 84 sitting days, including a few evenings, and having considered more than 200 petitions. I am sure the whole House will once again join me in thanking the Committee, as well as the Clerks, Hansard reporters and doorkeepers, for their dedication, professionalism and enthusiasm during the past 21 months.
The motion’s purpose is simple. It will ensure that the Bill can be carried over for consideration in the next Session and that all the work that I have briefly described is not wasted. Carrying a Bill over from one Session to another is, of course, well precedented; indeed, this Bill has already been carried over from one Parliament to another.
If the motion is passed, there will be no curtailing of scrutiny in the next Session. There will be the usual opportunities for Members to consider the Bill line by line during the Public Bill Committee stage. Allocation of places on the Committee will be on a first come, first served basis. I urge Members to speak to their Whips as soon as possible if they wish to secure a place. I can say with confidence that the Committee’s deliberations will be measured in days or weeks, rather than months.
Whatever outstanding reservations Members might have about aspects of the project, I do not believe that anyone wants the Bill to be infinitely delayed or, worse still, cancelled, which is what could happen if they object to the motion before us today. I remind the House that there will be a Select Committee in another place to consider remaining concerns of petitioners. With that in mind, I commend the motion to the House.
"
