§ (1) On a claim being made for payment of a sum under either of the two last preceding Sections as a supplement to any compensation the purchasing authority may settle the claim in agreement with the person entitled to the compensation, and in default of agreement the claim shall be referred to and determined by an arbitrator to be appointed in accordance with the provisions of the Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act, 1919, who shall have the like powers with respect to procedure and costs as he has under that Act:
§ Provided that—
- (a) a county court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine any question arising on such a claim whether the claimant is a person who is to be deemed for the purposes of this Part of this Act to be an owner-occupier; and
- (b) in lieu of the provisions of the said Act of 1919 as to the statement of special cases, the arbitrator may at any stage of the proceedings before him, and shall if so directed by the judge of a county court, state in the form of a special case for the opinion of that court any question of law arising in the course of the proceedings, and may state his award as to the whole or part thereof in the form of a special case for the opinion of a county court.
§ (2) The Treasury may make regulations prescribing the manner in which, and matters by reference to which, any valuation required for the purposes of the determination of a claim for payment of a sum under either of the two last preceding Sections is to be made.
§ (3) Provision may be made by an order made by the Treasury and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament for substituting, in view of any circumstances arising since the passing of this Act, for any reference in the Section of this Act (Supplement to compensation in case of owner-occupiers) to thirty per cent. a reference to such higher or lower percentage as may be specified in the order, either generally or as respects any particular provision of that Section.
§ An order or orders may be made under this Sub-section as respects such period or respective periods as appear to the Treasury to be appropriate, and any such order shall have effect (if approved as aforesaid) in relation to interests in respect of which notices to treat are served during the period as respects which the order is made.
§ (4) Where the person entitled to any compensation would apart from this provision be entitled to receive a sum as a supplement to that compensation under both of the two last preceding Sections, he shall be entitled to receive whichever of those sums is the greater, to the exclusion of the other.
§ (5) A sum payable under either of the two last preceding Sections as a supplement to any compensation shall be held and disposed of in like manner as if it had formed part of 440 the compensation and, where the compensation carries interest, shall carry interest at the rate and from the date at and from which interest on the compensaion is payable.
§ (6) References in this Part of this Act to the time of service of a notice to treat shall include references to the time at which such a notice deemed by virtue of the Sixth Schedule to this Act or of any other enactment to have been served is to be deemed to have been served.—[The Solicitor-General.]
§ Brought up, and read the First time.
§ The Solicitor-GeneralI beg to move, "That the Clause be read a Second time."
I do not think that, at this stage, the Committee would want me to deal at great length with this Clause, which deals with supplemental provisions relating to the two preceding Sections. I will, very shortly, put the object of these supplemental provisions before the Committee, and I hope they will give the Clause its Second Reading. Sub-section (1) deals with the method of assessing the compensation. First, it allows for agreement, and, in default of agreement, for the case to go to the official arbitrator, but there are two special points. You can go to the county court on questions arising out of the problem of the owner-occupier and, instead of having a case on a point of law stated to the High Court, your stated case will go to the county court, which we think is suitable in this connection. If there is any point of principle, it can go to the Court of Appeal from the county court, like other matters.
The second Sub-section gives the Treasury some regulation-making powers, and I think my hon. Friends who pay attention to this, will consider that they come within the sphere of regulation-making powers which they have approved. They will be such matters as the application of Section 2 of the Acquisition of Land Act to these applications and the various Rules that appeared in that Section, the question of valuations of tenancies under Sub-section (2) (b) and questions of split valuations as between property and site. I am sure my hon. Friends will agree that these are matters that require regulation-making powers.
The third Sub-section deals with the question which I think the hon. Member for Peckham (Mr. Silkin) has in mind, and I would like the Committee to consider this. Provision is made that, after the 441 Act, an order can be made by the Treasury and approved oy Resolution cot each house of Parliament for substituting, in view of circumstances that have arisen after the passing of the Act, a different figure for the 30 per cent. There is an Amendment on this point, but the point I wanted my hon. Friends to have in mind is that this is strictly prospective and will only apply to notices to treat given after the Order is laid and approved by both Houses of Parliament, and will not apply to past matters in that limited sense. I think the Committee will appreciate that that change can only be made for the clear future, and with the full assent of this House and of the other House of Parliament.
Sub-section (4) deals with the point, which is a small but 'useful one, that both forms of supplement, the owner-occupier one and the supplement we have just been discussing, will be ascertained. The claimant does not need to choose between the different supplements and then find that he backed the wrong horse. They will both be ascertained, and he will get the better one, which is fair. Sub-section (5) is a provision that, although there may be that distinction, and delay in getting the supplement, because they have to be ascertained, it will, for legal purposes, form part of the same fund, which will be useful for trustees. Sub-section (6) is a provision that notice to treat in certain cases is deemed to have been served. I hope that is a clear summary of the provisions of this Clause.
§ Question, "That the Clause be read a Second time," put, and agreed to.
§ Clause added to the Bill.