clearance before public consultation and detailed clearance afterwards, please cover each stage. Any likely cause of delay, eg dependence on
autumn PES decisions or publication of an inquiry report, must be
covered;
b.
whether and if so when and for how long any public consultation
on the proposals will be carried out;
C.
when firm instructions will be delivered to Parliamentary Counsel.
(If it is proposed to deliver instructions in instalments or at different times for different topics please give details); and
d.
when the Bill is expected to be ready for introduction.
-
It is important to have realistic estimates to enable Ministers to plan the use of Parliamentary time. Over-optimistic timetables are unhelpful all round. Please be as specific as you can indicating where possible 'early',
'mid' or 'late' when naming a month. In cases of doubt, earliest and latest
dates should be given for each stage. Account should be taken of
Parliamentary Counsel's absence on leave (normally for the whole of August). Departments are strongly advised to consult their legal advisers on entries
for dates for delivery of instructions.
ANNEX C
and
This annex is for Bills your Department considers would be suitable, can be made ready, for offering to Private Members of the House of Commons
who are successful in the Ballot for Bills which will take place at the beginning of the 1988/89 Session. The purpose of putting together this list now is to avoid a rush of requests for policy clearance and drafting in the
autumn when pressure of work on Government Bills is at its greatest. Once Departments' proposals have been considered and agreed, it should be possible to carry out preparatory work on at least some of the Bills in advance of the Ballot. There is of course no guarantee that a particular Bill will be taken up. Your Department's list should include any Bills which have been offered
or introduced in previous Sessions without success and which you would like
to offer again.