HC Deb 06 August 1924 vol 176 c3083

Lords Amendment:

In page 11, leave out lines 22 to 26 inclusive.

Mr. W. R. SMITH

I beg to move "That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment."

This Amendment also relates to a matter which was fully discussed when the Bill was previously before the House. The House then disagreed with the Lords Amendment which sought to leave in the words of the paragraph down to the word "incapable" and which would therefore have given two interpretations of the expression "able-bodied man," thus leading to confusion. The Lords now suggest the deletion of the whole of this paragraph which means that the Bill will be left with one definition, and we feel that for the purposes of the Bill one definition is sufficient. Wages will be fixed for able-bodied men, and the only variation will be by the system of permits, which is covered by the definition in Clause 2, Sub-section (3). We feel the Bill will not be materially prejudiced by the deletion of the words indicated in the Amendment.

Mr. FOOT

Do I understand that this definition is to be removed from the Bill altogether?

Mr. SMITH

The definition in Clause 16 will be removed entirely, but the words in Clause 2, Sub-section (3), remain to guide the committees in the granting of permits.