HC Deb 18 December 1945 vol 417 cc1242-4

Order read for consideration of Lords Amendments

Ordered: That the Lords Amendments be now considered."—[I The Solicitor-General.]

Lords Amendments considered accordingly.

Clause 6.—(Operation of Orders.)

Lords Amendment: In page 5, line 12, leave out "standing."

9.47 p.m.

The Solicitor-General (Major Sir Frank Soskice

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

Mr. Speaker

I suggest that if these Amendments are purely drafting we might take them altogether.

The Solicitor-General

They are purely drafting except the last one, which introduces a time limit.

Mr. Molson (The High Peak)

The Amendment that has been moved in their Lordships' House does delete from the Bill the" word which I moved to include in the Committee stage in this House. I would ask the Solicitor-General to repeat to the House the assurance that was given by the Lord Privy Seal, in Committee, that a Report stage shall be provided for.

The Solicitor-General

I readily repeat that assurance. In Clause 9 of the Bill there is power to make Standing Orders, and in particular, Standing Orders to deal with the point mentioned by the hon. Gentleman. We give the assurance that the necessary steps will be taken to introduce Standing Orders which will bring it about that Orders pass through a proper Report stage after being through the Joint Committee stage, or having been presented, according to the particular Order in question

Subsequent Lords Amendment to page 5, line 21,agreed to.

First Schedule.—[Preliminary Proceedings.)

Lords Amendment: In page 12, line 17, after "time ", insert "not being less than twenty-eight days."

The Solieitor-General

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

The object of this Amendment is to introduce a time limit in what I maydescribe as the preliminary procedure through which Statutory Orders have to pass. They have to be notified in the "London Gazette," and certain notices have to be published giving the opportunity to persons affected to raise objections. The preliminary procedure is set out in the First Schedule, and it is that procedure which, in default of any other procedure specified in the Act which makes it possible to make the Order, has to be made use of. Paragraph 2 of the First Schedule at present reads that every notice shall specify the time within which and the manner in which objections may be made to the application or to the Orders as the case may be. The object of the Amendment is to impose a time limit during which objection must be made, and the time limit which is proposed and which was agreed upon in another place is 28 days. At present there is no limitation at all, and clearly some limitation should be there, and 28 days is a perfectly reasonable limitation.