Explanatory Notes for Bills and Acts: Pilot Scheme

Lord Hague of Richmond Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd October 2014 Written Statements

[The First Secretary of State and Leader of the House of Commons (Mr William Hague)]

The Armed Forces (Service Complaints and Financial Assistance) Bill [Lords] has been passed by the House of Lords and was introduced in this House yesterday. The accompanying explanatory notes to this Bill pilot a new format which is easier to navigate and works better with online content. The notes now include:

A table of contents

A grid showing the application of each part of the Bill to each part of the United Kingdom

A shoulder note to the explanation of each clause and schedule showing the application of the provision to each part of the United Kingdom

An explanation of both the policy and legal backgrounds, along with a summary of the existing law

An explanation of the financial implications of the Bill and of the need for a money resolution

Links to relevant policy documents

An explanation of how the measures in the Bill will be commenced

The new format follows on from a review of explanatory notes which was conducted by the Cabinet Office and the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel as part of the Good Law project. In support of this work officials met with a variety of stakeholders and conducted an online survey which obtained views from within and beyond Parliament. The results of this survey have been placed in the Library of the House.

A full evaluation of this pilot will be conducted following its completion and any feedback on the new format should be delivered to my office or to [e-mail].