LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND OTHER OFFICERS' SUPERANNUATION BILL. (Hansard, 3 August 1922)

§ Sir HERBERT NIELD

I beg to move, "That the Lords Amendments be now considered."

I desire to thank the Leader of the House for his courtesy in allowing this Measure to come on at this late hour of the Session. The Bill passed its Second Reading without a Division and went through Committee with reasonable criticism, the Minister of Health pointing out that reasonable Amendments were required. I propose to move, therefore, that the Lords Amendments be agreed to. They have been made, not by the Lords of their own motion, but at the request of the promoters, and have been accepted by the Ministry of Heath. I desire to acknowledge with gratitude the great services rendered by Sir Alfred Watson, the Government Actuary, to whose advice we are deeply indebted. Very valuable services have also been rendered by Sir Aubrey Symonds and many other officers of the Ministry of Health, who have been very sympathetic toward the object of the promoters and have greatly assisted us in bringing these Amendments forward.

Each one of the Lords Amendments had been put down, and would have been moved on the Report stage in this House, but circumstances occurred over which I had no control—nor, indeed, had this House. The right hon. Baronet the Member for the City of London (Sir Frederick Banbury), as a railway chairman, was very anxious to keep off the Railway Fires Bill that he managed to prolong the Debate on the last day appropriated to Private Members' Bills, and so made it necessary to jettison the Amendments at two minutes to four o'clock, in order to save this Bill. These Amendments would have been moved then but for that unfortunate delay. I hope the House will allow the Amendments to be taken as speedily as possible, and that they will have their whole-hearted support and sympathy.