A productive day in Parliament - with progress on banning illegal scrap metal dealing

By Matthew Barrett
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Generally speaking, Fridays are unproductive days in Parliament. They are used to consider Private Member's Bills, which are often talked out by MPs, some of whom are serious in their opposition, and some of whom have been asked to block a Bill by a party hierarchy (not always their own). With the possibility of a PMB passing through to the next stage of consideration by Parliament often being risky, a day when several PMBs go through is notable.

Such a day happened yesterday. There were PMBs passed through in both Houses. In the Commons, Bills included:

• Mental Health (Discrimination) (No. 2) Bill - Gavin Barwell
• Marine Navigation (No. 2) Bill - Sheryll Murray
• Presumption of Death Bill - John Glen
• Mobile Homes Bill - Peter Aldous

And in the Lords, two went through:

• Disabled Persons' Parking Badges Bill - Simon Kirby/Baroness Thomas of Winchester
• Scrap Metal Dealers Bill - Richard Ottaway/Baroness Browning

The titles might be a little dry, but they dealt with common-sense causes, including stopping non-disabled drivers using disabled car parking spaces, and trying to stop illegal scrap metal dealing - often involving the terrible crime of stealing from churches and graves.