Hon members, this afternoon the Speaker received a letter from Mr Watson raising his concern that the debate on this Bill has not been scheduled. He contends in that letter that it is implicit in the Rules and especially in Rule 253 that the Second Reading debate will take place on every Bill. That was my understanding of the letter. That particular Bill deals with the Second Reading of Bills. This Rule does not state categorically that the debate must take place, but rather seeks to give guidance on the procedures to be followed should a debate on Second Reading be scheduled, and on what such a debate should be conducted.
The Rules states that the Bill is passed if the Assembly approves its Second Reading. It also states that a Bill is rejected if its Second Reading is not approved by the appropriate majority. This Rule therefore relates to the question of the Bill being read a second time, either being accepted or rejected by the House. Where a debate is not scheduled, political parties would have an opportunity to make a declaration of vote, have their objections noted or call for a division. A cursory scrutiny of the Rules would indicate that there is no Rule that compels the Assembly to debate a Bill. A debate is implied in Rule 253.
In respect of this Bill, I understand that the matter was discussed in the Chief Whips' Forum and the majority of the political parties agreed that the Bill did not require a debate in the Assembly. Therefore, we will proceed with the Order.