HC Deb 24 July 1936 vol 315 cc1013-4

Lords Amendment: In page 53, leave out lines 13 to 44, and insert:

  1. "1. Stock issued to Queen Anne's Bounty in respect of tithe rentcharges which immediately before their extinguishment were vested in Queen Anne's Bounty for an interest in fee simple in possession and held on account of a benefice, or were attached to a benefice for such an interest, together with any securities representing sums carried or to be carried to the sinking fund in relation to any such rentcharges under section five of the Tithe Act, 1925, shall be held by Queen Anne's Bounty on their general corporate account, with the same powers of sale and reinvestment as if the stock or securities had been purchased by them out of moneys standing to the credit of that account, and no part of such stock or securities shall be appropriated to, or be at the individual risk of, any particular benefice.
  2. 2. Queen Anne's Bounty shall, subject to the provisions of paragraph 1 of the Eighth Schedule to this Act, appropriate to each benefice concerned a sum of money equal to the aggregate of—
    1. (a) the amount of the stock issued to Queen Anne's Bounty in respect of such of the rentcharges aforesaid as were held on account of or attached to that benefice; and
    2. (b) the value, as estimated by Queen Anne's Bounty, of such of the securities aforesaid as are held on account of that benefice.
  3. 3. The sum appropriated to a benefice under the provisions of the last foregoing paragraph, together with any securities representing investments of sums received for redemption or merger which are held on account of that benefice under the proviso to subsection (2) of section six of the Tithe Act, 1925, shall be applied and disposed of by Queen Anne's Bounty as money 1014 or securities in their hands appropriated for the augmentation of the benefice should by law and under the rules of Queen Anne's Bounty be applied and disposed of.
  4. 4.—(1) Where any such rentcharge as aforesaid was immediately before its extinguishment charged with an annual money payment, the charge shall pass to the sum appropriated as aforesaid to the benefice."

Mr. RAMSBOTHAM

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

This Schedule concerns matters which are entirely domestic to the Church and was originally drafted upon wishes expressed by Queen Anne's Bounty. But subsequent consideration and consultation showed that there were certain details in it which did not carry out the purpose of the Schedule. Therefore, this Amendment is substituted for the words which previously appeared in the Bill, and I hope that the House will not take exception to it.

1.36 p.m.

Mr. BELLENGER

Although the Parliamentary Secretary has told us that this is entirely a matter for Queen Anne's Bounty, I am perhaps a little suspicious, and I should like to hear from him in what manner this new Schedule now being presented to us differs with the Schedule at present in the Bill. Is there any substantial alteration in this very long and complicated Schedule now being presented to us? Candidly, I have not had time to examine the matter very closely, and I hope that the Parliamentary Secretary will give a little more information than the cursory information he gave in moving that this House should agree with the Lords in the Amendment.

Mr. RAMSBOTHAM

I assure the hon. Gentleman that there is no substantial alteration as compared with the Schedule as originally drafted. I frankly admit that I cannot go through it line by line and tell the hon. Member whether a particular alteration was an improvement or not upon what we had previously, but it is entirely domestic. As to the minor details I cannot explain where they differ, but I can assure the hon. Member and the House that there is no substantial difference between the two.