HC Deb 18 October 1944 vol 403 cc2433-5

1.54 p.m.

Sir Richard Wells (Bedford)

I beg to move, in page 21, line 14, after "with", insert "before September, nineteen hundred and thirty-nine."

The object of this is that, if licensed houses have been damaged during the war period or taken over for the war effort, that should be no reason why they should be referred to the licensing justices for compensation if they were not redundant before the war. These houses have not been trading at all for many years. The point is that if the local authorities take them over and pay for them, they can refer them to the licensing justices for compensation. That might put the licensing justices in a difficulty. They might have to find out whether they are redundant and the reason for which they have been referred. The levy is for the purpose of paying for redundant houses. It would hardly be fair that houses destroyed or taken over should be considered redundant because they have not been trading for something like four or five years. It is in direct contradiction to the finding, of the Morris Committee. If this goes through as it is, it will open a great opportunity for litigation and a great deal of delay.

Sir Ernest Shepperson (Leominster)

I beg to second the Amendment. As a licensing justice, I appreciate fully what My hon. Friend has said.

1.56 p.m.

The Attorney-General

The Bill deals in the main with two types of area, the blitzed and the blighted. As far as licences in blitzed areas are concerned, there has been a Committee presided over by Mr. John Morris which has made certain recommendations on a rather complicated problem, namely, dealing with licences in an area which is going to be replanned and reconstructed, possibly in the old territory, possibly somewhere else. Those recommendations have not yet been embodied in legislation but, if they were embodied, or substantially embodied, they would cover in the main the point that my hon. Friend has in mind. No one can pledge the future, but the Government intend to introduce legislation on the lines of the Morris Committee's recommendations at an early date. One may reasonably anticipate that legislation on these lines will be on the Statute Book before this becomes a practical problem. I think that is the main answer in respect of blitzed areas. Even apart from that, I think there, is a difficulty about going back to 1939. My hon. Friend says that in some cases these premises may have been taken over during the war, or that in their vicinity a number of houses are on the ground, but surely the justices, in deciding whether a licence was redundant, would not have regard to the exceptional conditions of the war but would look ahead. They would say, "This is a perfectly good licence. Here is the plan. There has been an application for a Clause 1 order. It is obvious that there is the intention to redevelop this as a residential area. We have to consider whether or not this licence is redundant in the light of the facts as they are known to be and as we know they are likely to develop."

Therefore, there will be a difficulty about accepting the Amendment even if there were not a carefully worked out plan such as that which is contained in the Morris Committee recommendations. The suggestions there have been arrived at after close consultation with everybody concerned, and it is thought that, if you get the organisation recommended, you will be able to amalgamate and re-allocate the licences without calling on the compensation fund. I fully appreciate the desire that the compensation fund should not be raised unreasonably in dealing with this problem. So far as the blighted areas are concerned, I think my hon. Friend will agree that we could not go back to 1939; one must consider things as they are to-day. We fully realise the point behind the Amendment, but I believe that in the main it will be made clear—at least, I hope it will be—by what I have said, namely, that the Government propose to legislate on the lines of the Morris Committee.

Sir R. Wells

With that explanation, for which I thank the Attorney-General, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the Amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.