HC Deb 12 February 1941 vol 368 cc1405-7

Amendment made: In page 41, line 33, at the beginning, insert: () Sub-section (3) of Section eleven shall have effect, and be deemed always to have had effect, as if after the word 'insured' there were inserted the words 'or re-insured.'"—[Mr. Lyttelton.]

The President of the Board of Trade (Mr. Lyttelton)

I beg to move, in page 42, line 8, to leave out from "following," to the end of line 22, and to insert: Sub-sections;— '(4) Where in the course of any business a ship is being, or has been, constructed under contract, and the ship or any part thereof or any goods appropriated for the construction thereof would not, apart from the provisions of this Sub-section, be deemed for the purposes of this Part of this Act to be owned by the person from time to time carrying on the business, but—

  1. (a) would, apart from the said provisions, have been deemed for those purposes to be so owned at any time; or
  2. (b) have at any time been accepted, in pursuance of a contract made with him, by the person from time to time carrying on the business,
the ship, part or goods shall for the purposes of this part of this Act be deemed, in a case to which paragraph (a) of this Sub-section applies, to continue to be owned by the person from time to time carrying on the business until the acceptance of the ship, in pursuance of the contract in question, by the person for whom it is being, or has been, constructed, and in a case to which paragraph (b) of this Sub-section applies, to be owned by the person from time to time carrying on the business at all times between the acceptance referred to in the said paragraph (b) and the acceptance of the ship as aforesaid by the person for whom it is being, or has been, constructed. (4A) Where in the course of any business any part of a ship is being, or has been, constructed under contract, not being part of a ship which is being, or has been, constructed by the person from time to time carrying on the business, and the part of the ship or any goods appropriated for the construction of that part would not, apart from the provisions of this Sub-section, be deemed for the purposes of this Part of this Act to be owned by the person from time to time carrying on the business, but—
  1. (a) would apart from the said provisions, have been deemed for those purposes to be so owned at any time; or
  2. (b) have at any time been accepted, in pursuance of a contract made with him, by the person from time to time carrying on the business,
the part of the ship or goods shall for the purposes of this Part of this Act he deemed, in a case to which paragraph (a) of this Sub-section applies to continue to be owned by the person from time to time carrying on the business until acceptance of the part of the ship under the contract in question by the person for whom it is being, or has been, constructed, and in a case to which paragraph (b) of this Sub-section applies to be owned by the person from time to time carrying on the business at all times between the acceptance referred to in the said paragraph (b) and the acceptance as aforesaid of the part of the ship by the person for whom it is being, or has been, constructed. (4B) Where the person from time to time carrying on a business receives any money, under a policy issued in pursuance of the commodity insurance scheme, in respect of damage to a ship, part of a ship or goods which are deemed to be owned by him by virtue of Sub-section (4) or Sub-section (4A) of this Section, the money shall he held by him on trust for the person who apart from the provisions of those Sub-sections would be deemed for the purposes of this Part of this Act to be the owner of the ship, part or goods, subject, however, to any lien or charge which would otherwise he enforceable against the ship, part or goods and subject also to the right to retain out of the money the amount of any expenses reasonably incurred by the first-mentioned person in making good any part of the damage which he is liable to make good.' This is a very complex Amendment. Where a shipbuilder has sub-contracted part of the work the Amendment provides that the property, supposing the subcontractor delivered his material to the shipbuilder, should be insured by the latter until delivery of the ship to the shipowner. The third Sub-section reproduces with modifications the proviso that Section 15(4) of the War Risks Insurance Act. The shipbuilder is treated as the owner so that he may be able to insure; where he is not in fact the owner, he is to hold the money recovered under the insurance policy as trustee for the real owner.

Amendment agreed to.

Further Amendment made: In page 42, line 26, leave out Sub-section (4).—[Mr. Lyttelton.]

Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Clause, as amended, stand part of the Bill."

Mr. Garro Jones (Aberdeen, North)

May I ask the Lord Advocate whether he is satisfied that the many representations which have been made to me by Scottish authorities have been properly considered? I have received a large number of representations from my constituency on these points and some private assurances that they are being considered. Can the Lord Advocate say what has been done to meet the views that have been expressed with regard to terminology and so on?

The Lord Advocate (Mr. T. M. Cooper)

I think that I shall be able to give a fuller answer to the hon. Gentleman when we reach Clause 69, which is the Scottish application Clause. I can now give him a complete assurance that all the representations that I have had have not only been considered by ourselves but discussed with strong committees of the Faculty of Advocates and the Legal Society in Scotland. The proposals which I shall shortly move on Clause 69 represent in substance the unanimous views of the legal authorities as to the solution of the difficulties with which we were faced.

Question, "That the Clause, as amended, stand part of the Bill," put, and agreed to.