STATISTICS (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

The Acting Minister for Trade and Industry (BG Lee Hsien Loong): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, the purpose of this Bill is similar to the earlier Bill. It proposes to amend section 2 of the Statistics Act by deleting the definition of the word "Minister". At present all references to the Minister in the Statistics Act 1973 mean the Minister for Finance. Again, this was not amended when the Ministry of Trade and Industry was formed and the subjects covered in this Act brought under the portfolio of MTI. Currently, therefore, although MTI has been administering the collection of national statistics, the legal authority to specify the government agencies which can collect, prepare and publish statistics, and make appropriate rules for statistical collection, etc, still lies with the Minister for Finance. This again is obviously unsatisfactory, and this Bill seeks to rationalize this. Also, to cater for possible future changes in portfolios, the definition of "Minister" is being deleted. The effect of this deletion is that, under the Interpretation Act, the Minister will be the Minister for the time being charged by the Prime Minister with the responsibility for the Act.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [BG Lee Hsien Loong].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.

Mr Speaker: Order. It is just after one o'clock. I suspend this Sitting and will take the Chair again at half-past Two.

Sitting accordingly suspended at 1.00 pm until 2.30 pm. Sitting resumed at 2.30 pm