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2.
Timing. We still do not know the date of the Committee
Stage. The Minister may wish to study these papers, however, and if necessary commission additional work now. Mr Carlisle has explained to the Chief Whip's Office the importance of our enacting the Bill in time to enable us to ratify the Convention and participate in the inaugural meeting of the Council of Governors. The date of that meeting is likely to hinge on
United States' ratification. The US Congress appropriated funds
for the US subscription on 22 December 1987; but they attached
conditions to its authorization and the funding of the US participation, so there remains some uncertainty about when the American ratification will be deposited. My best guess is that the inaugural meeting will not be held before March. Precisely because that gives us an outside chance of participating in the
meeting, however, there remains a continuing need for early
Parliamentary progress on the Bill.
3. The Minister has agreed that the Notes on Clauses (B) should
be made available to the Committee, and Mr Carlisle has copies
ready to send to the Clerk of the Committee once a date for the
Committee Stage has been set. These Notes are very comprehensive,
and there is little need for the Minister to say much by way of oral presentation. The speaking notes are therefore brief.
4. No amendments to the draft Bill have yet been tabled. They
should be handed in at least two days before they are likely to be reached by the Committee. Possible amending proposals
foreshadowed in the Second Reading debate are amending "colony"
to read "dependent territory", and the exclusion of Channel Islands
and Isle of Man from coverage of clause 9 (Mr Foulkes
Hansard,
columns 185 and 186). We have attempted to cover the substance of these in the draft Supplementaries on clause 9 (A); but I shall, of course, provide separate briefing if formal amendments
are tabled on these or other issues.
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/5. It may be