HC Deb 20 March 1940 vol 358 cc2037-8
Lords Amendment

In line 33, at the end, insert: (2) Particulars of any such arrangements shall be laid before Parliament by the Minister as soon as may be after they are made.

Sir R. Dorman-Smith

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

In Committee the point covered by the Amendment was raised by the hon. Member for Clay Cross (Mr. Ridley), and I promised that we would try to meet the point. We have inserted this new Subsection in order to meet the arguments which the hon. Member advanced, and I hope it will satisfy him and his colleagues that we have met him as we promised.

4.37 p.m.

Mr. T. Williams

It is true that on the Committee stage or the Report stage a promise was made by the right hon. Gentleman that any scheme under Clause 25 would be laid on the Table of the House, but I am convinced from conversations which have ensued since that there was an element of misunderstanding about the actual depth and width of the promise. However, I think the Amendment partially, if not wholly, fulfils the promise made. We contemplated the possibility of putting down an Amendment to the Lords Amendment, so that wherever a scheme was laid on the Table of the House of Commons it would be subject to a Prayer, whereby hon. Members who felt disposed to discuss the contents of any scheme would be permitted to do so. We learned, however, that although the scheme was laid on the Table of the House and there would be no opportunities for discussing the scheme, if Members of the Opposition or hon. Members in any part of the House felt disposed to discuss the scheme that had been laid on the Table, time would be arranged for that purpose. That being so, there is no reason for an Amendment to the Lords Amendment, and in the circumstances we are inclined to accept the Amendment.

4.39 p.m.

Mr. John Morgan (Doncaster)

Does that mean, if my hon. Friend's statement is correct, that we shall be entitled to discuss a particular scheme if it is laid before the House, assuming that we ask to do so?

Sir R. Dorman-Smith

Yes, Sir.

Question put, and agreed to.