Member

My noble friend Lady Murphy raised an issue about the code of practice and the Guide to Making Legislation, which is a Cabinet Office manual signed off on by the former First Parliamentary Counsel, Elizabeth Gardiner, who was the drafter of this Bill. It is interesting that the code of practice states that it is not an authoritative statement of practice to be followed. It typically differs from legislation, in that it offers guidance rather than imposing requirements or hard and fast rules. This produces considerable latitude in practical applications. Provisions of the code are not directly enforceable by legal proceedings, which is why many of us are asking for more detail. The code of practice gives a significant amount of leeway and that is not appropriate for a Bill of this magnitude.