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substance of a bill are permitted, and are made freely by the draftsman prior to its presentation at the Public Bill Office. Such amendments may also be informally made thereafter by the Clerk, generally after consultation with the draftsman, in the course of the frequent reprinting of a bill that is normal. The Working Group recommends that the former practice of informal minor amendment prior to presentation be adopted. However, as bills are not reprinted in Hong Kong in the course of their progress through committee, the Working Group does not recommend minor amendment by the Clerk. It was noted in this context that reprinting of a bill or the text of amended provisions was only required where a bill was amended by a select committee (S.0. 48(2)) and that in such circumstances the select committee itself could make the minor amendments without undue inconvenience.
Official report of proceedings
48
In line with United Kingdom Parliamentary practice, Hansard (a verbatim report) is kept in respect of all proceedings in the council and in the committee of the whole council.
49
If the Working Group's recommendation on the greater use of select committees is adopted (paragraph 22) then a clerk will be required to be present at all public sittings of select committees and a Hansard report of its proceedings will also be necessary. Similarly if Finance Committee meets in public session a Hansard record will be required. The Working Group concluded that a Hansard report would be inappropriate for the private sittings of a select committee, and recommends that these should be attended simply by a clerk who would keep a record of conclusions.
50
Standing Order 63 provides that the evidence taken before a select committee and documents presented to a select committee shall not be published by a member of the committee or by any other person before the committee have presented their report to the Council. This prohibition could cause difficulty in relation to evidence taken and documents referred to or received at public sessions of select committees. The Working Group accordingly recommends that SO 63 be amended to permit publication of evidence and documents taken or presented at public sessions, except where the chairman otherwise directs. In this context the Working Group noted that the powers of the Council (e.g. to summons witnesses) and its privileges (e.g. protection from liability for defamation) do not appear to have been legislated for. It recommends therefore that those matters be examined, as it was not possible for the Working Group to do so.
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