European Union (Information, etc.) Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 1: 1: Clause 1, page 1, line 4, at end insert ““where indicated by the Secretary of State”” The noble Lord said: I am grateful to the Committee for allowing me to table this amendment, which deals with a particular matter that arose in the debate on Second Reading, in which some Members understandably thought that there might be an element of compulsion. Indeed, the Minister also referred to that in her Second Reading remarks about the suggestions in the various clauses. I intervened at that stage to emphasise that that was not the intention of the Bill, which is drafted in such a way that its provisions are entirely permissive and voluntary all the way through, without exception. However, sometimes textual equivocations can arise because of the use of, for example, the word ““shall”” rather than ““may””. The difficulty is that ““may””, as colleagues here and in the other place will understand, reduces the apparent force of the exhortatory nature of the clause, and so people prefer to remain with the stronger verb. I thought that it would therefore be sensible and politic to propose an amendment at this stage to give the Secretary of State the power to intervene. Under the amendment, those who wish to set up a European Union centre in public buildings, public libraries and municipal buildings would apply to the Secretary of State for a certificate, which would be a board or a plaque of some kind to be displayed in the building as an indication that the Government had given their approval to the creation of the unit. That is not to say that there would be any over-riding power exercised by the Secretary of State or the Government over this matter; setting up the centre for information would be an entirely free and voluntary decision of the local authorities and other entities. However, the fact that the plaque or board was on display would show the imprimatur of government encouragement at least. There would be no connection with any European Union institutions, which would reassure colleagues who would be worried about the involvement of the European Union and its institutions in matters that should remain entirely in the national ambit. I beg move.