HC Deb 16 November 1945 vol 415 cc2536-7

Considered in Committee.

[Mr. HUBERT BEAUMONT in the Chair]

CLAUSE 1.—(Maintenance of British civil police forces overseas.)

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

11.52 a.m.

Mr. Grimston (Westbury)

During the Debate on the Second Reading of the Bill, I asked one or two questions, to which the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs was good enough to reply straight away, but there was one to which I did not receive an answer at the time, though I did not really expect it. The Bill empowers a Secretary of State to pay and to make Regulations for men who are sent overseas on police service, and the point is: If there are several Secretaries of State who might be involved in this, I would like to know who they are, and, if it is the case, what arrangements there are to see that the same set of Regulations apply in each case, because it is important that there are arrangements to see that men are not sent overseas to do the same job under different conditions.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. John Hynd)

The point is dealt with in Clause 1 (1) of the Bill, which applies to— persons engaged under his control in the performance of police duties in any foreign country for the time being in the occupation of His Majesty, or in the performance of police duties on behalf of the Government of any country or territory outside the United Kingdom. The position is that it is necessary to provide that a Secretary of State shall make the Regulations, because several Secretaries of State may be involved in the Bill. In the matter of the Greek Mission, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs is responsible. In respect of police service in Germany and Austria, the Secretary of State for War is responsible. Therefore, it is the appropriate Secretary of State who shall make the Regulations, but it is obvious that the Regulations must follow the same lines. So long as there is no Consolidated Act of any kind, and, as the Secretary of State for Home Affairs is responsible for home police, it is to be assumed that there will be the necessary co-ordination of Regulations through that source.

Question put, and agreed to.

Clause ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 2 and 3 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported, without Amendment; read the Third time, and passed.