English Votes on English Laws Debate

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Department: Leader of the House

English Votes on English Laws

Hywel Williams Excerpts
Thursday 2nd July 2015

(8 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Chris Grayling Portrait Chris Grayling
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The programme motion was not moved precisely because the Labour party said its Members would not support it. That is the story of the previous Parliament. They have a habit—as my hon. Friend will know—of saying one thing and doing another.

In 12 months’ time, when we carry out the review, I will be very open to submissions from all parts of the House about how the process should work, the way it is working and the extent of its working.

Hywel Williams Portrait Hywel Williams (Arfon) (PC)
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At the foot of page 2, the explanatory notes state:

“Any bills that the Speaker has certified as England-only in their entirety will be considered by only English MPs”.

It would help the House if the right hon. Gentleman were to identify past Bills that he considers to have been England-only in their entirety.

Chris Grayling Portrait Chris Grayling
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There will be a relatively small number of England-only Committees; most Bills are broader in extent, and in the previous Session there were only four. One example in particular is education, which is devolved to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but I would expect most Committees to continue to be configured in exactly the same way as they are today, with representatives from throughout the United Kingdom.