HC Deb 06 July 1939 vol 349 cc1629-31

9.41 p.m.

Mr. Stanley

I beg to move, in page 27, line 11, after "person," to insert "as."

This Amendment goes with the next two Amendments, and, with the permission of the House, I will deal with them together. The Amendments are consequential on an alteration we have made. We have now provided that a man may register before he has actually started to carry on business. We have laid down certain provisions as to how the fees for registration are to be calculated. They are based on the assumption that the particular firm may be already doing business. We have now to provide for the case of a man registered before starting to do business, and these Amendments provide that the fee shall not be higher than the appropriate rate for a man actually carrying on business.

Amendment agreed to. Further Amendments made:

In page 27, line 12, leave out from "industry," to "a," in line 14.

In line 18, after "exceeding," insert: in the case of a person carrying on business by way of any of the activities specified in the first column of the Fourth Schedule to. this Act."—[Mr. Stanley.]

9.43 p.m.

Mr. Stanley

I beg to move, in page 27, line 41, to leave out "publish," and to insert "give notice of."

This Amendment and the following Amendments to Clause 19 deal with the same point. They are intended to meet the difficulty of firms who are interested in other textile products as well as cotton—linen, wool and silk. It often happens that a firm dealing in, say, wool and cotton, or silk and cotton, already makes contributions to research work carried out by an institution in the wool or silk trade. It is felt that if they had to pay the full levy for research into the cotton industry it might affect their ability or willingness to give such assistance as they are already giving to research in other branches of the textile industry. The Joint Committee is not anxious that the levying of these funds for research in the cotton industry should be at the expense of research already carried out in other branches of the textile industry, and, I think, with a very broad-minded view, they immediately agreed to deal with this difficulty.

The way in which it is dealt with in this Amendment is that a firm of that nature can set against the amount which would be due under the first category any amount which they are paying to wards research in the other branch of the textile industry in which they are interested This is, of course, limited. They can only set so much as would be chargeable to them under the first category. They can only, therefore, set against their expenditure on research else where what they would be called upon to contribute for research under this Bill. I think the Committee will agree that a provision which enables these people to carry on with their contributions to re search in the other industry in which they are interested is a wise one.

Amendment agreed to.

Further Amendments made:

In page 28, line 5, at the end, insert: and the notice, given under the last pre ceding Sub-section, of the determination of the rate of any such contribution shall include a statement showing the proportions respectively in which the rate is levied for the purposes of defraying service expenses of the first category, service expenses of the second category and service expenses of the third. category.

In line 13, at the end, insert: (7) If, at the time when the appropriate contribution payable in respect of any year accrues due from any person—

  1. (a) he is carrying on business in the United Kingdom in the linen textile industry, the woollen and worsted industry, or the silk industry, as well as in the cotton industry; and
  2. (b) he has, since the end of the month of January of the preceding year, paid any sum by way of contribution to an association approved by the Board of Trade, being an association the purpose or main purpose of which is to conduct research into matters affecting the linen textile industry, the woollen and worsted industry, the silk industry and the cotton industry, as the case may be,
the amount payable by him by way of the appropriate contribution in respect of that year shall be reduced by the amount of the sum so paid by him to that association: Provided that the amount payable by any person by way of the appropriate contribution in respect of any year shall not, by virtue of this Sub-section, be reduced by more than the amount which, apart from this Sub-section, would have been so payable by him in respect of that year if the rate of the contribution had been levied for the purpose only of defraying service expenses of the first category."—[Mr. Stanley.]