§ 3.58 p.m.
§ LORD STONHAMMy Lords, I beg to move that this Report be now received.
§ Moved, That the Report be now received.—(Lord Stonham.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.
1027§ Clause 4 [Notification of beginning and ending of tipping operations]:
§ LORD STONHAM moved Amendment No. 1:
§
Page 4, line 20, leave out subsection (1) and insert—
("(1) If at any time tipping operations from a mine or quarry of a prescribed class or description—
the owner of the mine or quarry shall give notice to the inspector for the district of the intention to begin or resume the tipping operations not less than thirty days, or such shorter period as the inspector may permit, before the beginning or resumption of the operations.")
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, with this Amendment I should like to take Amendment No. 2, which is consequential. This Amendment fulfils an undertaking which I gave to the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, during the Committee stage. Its effect is to give discretion to Her Majesty's Inspectors to allow a shorter period of notice than the full 30 days which has to be given of intention to tip on a new site from a mine or quarry of a prescribed class or description. The existing clause already provides a power allowing a shorter period when tipping is resumed on a closed tip. It is scarcely necessary for me to add that while there should be little need to use this new power, because planning permission will in any case have to be obtained first and any site investigations required by regulations carried out, the Amendment introduces a further element of flexibility. The power which will be given by the amended clause will not be used unless the Inspector is completely satisfied that safety will not be prejudiced.
§ We have taken the opportunity in this Amendment to combine subsections (1) and (3), the effects of which are now familiar although the circumstances in which they apply are different. This has simplified and shortened the clause. The Amendment which the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, moved in Committee was expressed to apply in exceptional circumstances. The discretion given to an Inspector in the present Amendment is not restricted in the same way because, first of all, it will be exercised only exceptionally and when the Inspector is completely satisfied from the safety point 1028 of view; and, secondly, in this respect there is no reason to treat differently the beginning and resumption of tipping operations. I beg to move.
§ LORD ABERDAREMy Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord. As he says, this fulfils an undertaking that he gave me on the Committee stage. It fully meets my point and I am extremely grateful.
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ LORD STONHAMMy Lords, I beg to move Amendment No. 2.
§
Amendment moved—
Page 4, line 32, leave out subsection (3). —(Lord Stonham.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ Clause 14 [Notice requiring owner of disused tip to carry out remedial operations]:
§ LORD STONHAM moved Amendment No. 3:
§
Page 12, line 30, at end insert—
("() Where a local authority serves a notice under this section on the owner of a disused tip, then, within the period of twenty-one days beginning with the day on which the notice was served, the owner may serve a counter-notice under this subsection in the prescribed form requiring the local authority to exercise its powers under section 17; and where such a counter-notice is served—
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, this Amendment also implements an undertaking that I gave to the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, in Committee. Its effect is to enable the owner of a disused tip who has been served with a notice under Clause 14 requiring him to carry out remedial operations to require the local authority to proceed instead under Clause 17. The owner must exercise this option by serving a counter-notice in a form prescribed by the appropriate Minister (the "appropriate Minister" being the Minister of Housing and Local 1029 Government or the Secretary of State for Wales or the Secretary of State for Scotland) on the local authority within 21 days within which he would otherwise have to exercise his right of appeal under Clause 15. The local authority must then send a copy of it to every person on whom a copy of the original notice was served under Clause 14 and, as soon as reasonably practicable, exercise its powers under Clause 17.
§ When the owner serves a counter-notice, the original notice by the local authority is deemed never to have been served—it just did not happen. The owner will thus have to take no further action on the original notice and any appeal initiated by him or by a recipient of copy of that notice automatically lapses. I explained the advantages of this procedure on Committee. I need not go into details, but will merely say that it will open the possibility of a grant whenever remedial operations are required under Part II of the Bill and could be —and, I hope, will be—of considerable help, not only to the owner of the freehold but also to a leaseholder who may technically be the owner for the purposes of this Part of the Bill. Should such a person be served with a notice under Clause 14, there is, of course, nothing to prevent the owner of the freehold or, for that matter, any of the contributories, if they are willing to do so, being employed by the local authority as its agent to carry out the work. But, as was made clear in Committee, the fact that a grant can be paid when operations are carried out under Clause 17 does not mean and cannot mean that it will be. The Exchequer is to be regarded only as a safety net and the local authority's right to recover their expenses remains unchanged. I believe that it meets the point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, and that it should ensure fair play all round. I beg to move.
§ LORD ABERDAREMy Lords, once again I am very grateful to the noble Lord. As he realises, I was concerned about the position of an owner who might have had notice served on him under Clause 14, might have been what the noble Lord described as "a financial lightweight" and might have been in great difficulties about finding the money to undertake the remedial work required. Under the new subsection he will be 1030 enabled to serve a counter-notice requiring the local authority to proceed under Clause 17. I realise that this does not give him any prescriptive right to a grant but at least it opens up the whole question and allows the possibility of a grant from the Treasury. It fully meets my point. I know the noble Lord fought nobly on my side—I think I managed to convince him before some of his advisers on this Amendment—and I am grateful to him personally and to the Government for moving this new subsection.
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.