§ 3.53 p.m.
§ The Lord Advocate (Mr. T. M. Cooper)I beg to move, in page 3, line 39, to leave out from the beginning, to "shall," in line 42, and to insert:
In any instrument in connection with the acquisition, management, or disposal of any property, heritable or moveable, and in any legal proceedings to which the Secretary of State for Scotland is a party, it shall be sufficient to describe him by the title 'the Secretary of State for Scotland' without naming him and any such instrument.The purpose of this Amendment is to make it clear that property can be held and legal proceedings taken in the official name of "the Secretary of State for Scotland, "without the addition of the name of the individual for the time being holding the office. A similar procedure has been adopted in several instances, notably those of the Secretary of State for War, the Secretary of State for Air, the Minister of Health and the Minister of Transport. I do not think any further explanation of this Amendment is required, except to remind the House that under the new regime of Scottish administration, property which is at present held in the name of the Department of Agriculture—and there is a good deal of it—and the investment fund at present held in connection with National Health Insurance by the Department of Health will also be held by the Secretary of State.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Further Amendment made: In page 4, line 3, leave out "and."—[The Lord Advocate.]
§ The Lord AdvocateI beg to move, in page 4, line 9, after "State," to insert, "for Scotland."
This is a purely technical and drafting Amendment. In the Bill as it stands, an Amendment was unnecessarily and, I might almost say, inadvertently made in the Documentary Evidence Act as regards other Secretaries of State than the 2244 Secretary of State for Scotland, and the purpose of the Amendment is to confine the alteration to the scope of the present Bill.
§ Amendment agreed to.