The infamously undemocratic nature of Schedule 7 of the Public Bodies Bill has, it seems, been recognised by the government - although maybe not in exactly those terms.
In the Hansard text for Monday (Column 799) the Government announced that Schedule 7 will be dumped. Hooray!
Previously referred to here as the 'Pending Tray', Schedule 7 included a large number of Public Bodies whose fate could have been decided by a future administration without primary legislation.
Also very welcome is the recognition that the Bill could have been used to undermine charity independence and that has been changed.
The RSPB has been working with Parliamentarians on these issues and we are glad to see that progress has been made.
Couple this with a promise to withdraw the forestry clauses and it is good news. Perhaps the title should now be changed to 'Some Public Bodies Bill'. I can't quite summon up enough enthusiasm to give the Govt credit, there have been a few of these U turns lately.
That's excellent news Mark. Many more plus points for the RSPB for all their Parliamentary work. It shows how important this is. Some credit too to the Government for seeing reason, although maybe the Bill should never have been drafted with those clauses/schedule7 in it in the first place.