Amendments modifying a question

21.33Strictly speaking, if an amendment is intended only to modify the question by leaving out or adding words, debate should be restricted to the desirability of the omission or the addition of those words. Similarly, if it is intended to leave out certain words and to substitute other words for them, then although both the original and the proposed words may be discussed, debate should not range over the other words of the motion to which the amendment is not directed.

In practice, however, the Chair has often allowed debate to range over both the original question and the amendment to avoid unduly restricting debate. Where amendments to legislation are debated it can be necessary to focus debate more closely on the impact of the amendment itself rather than wider policy questions; for example, debate on an amendment to the sentencing tariff for a criminal offence should not cover the desirability of the relevant behaviour being an offence.

In modern practice, where a debate is intended to cover a motion and one or more amendments, debate is allowed to range over the whole of the motion and the amendments so as to avoid unduly restricting the debate and to ensure that there has been an adequate opportunity to debate the motion in the time available.