HC Deb 28 April 1947 vol 436 cc1693-6

(1) Where—

  1. (a) a person who, on the twenty-eighth day of November, nineteen hundred and 1694 forty-six, was carrying on a canal carrier undertaking on an inland waterway (hereinafter in this section referred to as "the appellant") appeals to the Transport Tribunal under subsection (3) of section thirty-five of this Act from a determination of the Commission in relation to the use of that waterway; and
  2. (b) the tribunal refuse, either in whole or in part, to do by their order what is asked for by the appellant on that appeal; and
  3. (c) the tribunal are satisfied that their refusal will involve substantial interference with the carrying on by the appellant of some activity which he was carrying on before the said twenty-eighth day of November and which he has, up to the time of the determination which was the subject of the appeal, continued to carry on with only such intermission, if any, as are incidental to the nature of the activity,
the tribunal may, on the application of the appellant, declare that the undertaking of the appellant, or some part thereof specified in the declaration, is to be transferred to the Commission.

(2) Where a declaration is made under the last preceding subsection and at the expiration of six months from the making thereof no agreement has been entered into between the appellant and the Commission for the acquisition by agreement by the Commission of the undertaking or of the part of the undertaking specified in the declaration, the appellant may apply to the Minister for an order giving effect to the transfer required by the declaration and the Minister shall make an order accordingly:

Provided that the Minister may permit such an application to be made before the expiration of the said six months if he is satisfied that there is no reasonable prospect of the transfer being effected by agreement.

(3) Any such order shall apply to the transfer, with such exceptions and subject to such modifications as may be specified in the order, the provisions of this Act relating to transfers of undertakings or parts of undertakings under Part III of this Act, including provisions as to compensation:

Provided that before making the order the Minister shall give the Commission and the appellant an opportunity of being heard before a person appointed by the Minister for the purpose, and shall consider the report of the person so appointed.

(4) If the Commission and the appellant so agree, any such order may effect a transfer of a part only of the undertaking notwithstanding that the declaration related to the whole of the undertaking, or of the whole of the undertaking notwithstanding that the declaration related to part only thereof, or of a part of the undertaking not identical with the part of the undertaking specified in the declaration.—[Mr. Barnes]

Brought up, and read the First time.

Mr. Barnes

I beg to move, "That the Clause be read a Second time."

This new Clause gives the right to require acquisition by Commission of canal carrier undertakings. As it runs parallel with the port facilities Clause, I invite the Committee, for the purpose of saving time, to satisfy themselves upon certain proposals in the new Clause which, I think, have been designed largely to meet the trend of the discussions in Committee. With regard to canal carriers, and to those who undertake certain port facilities, hon. Members will recollect that I was pressed to extend the same facilities to that type of undertaker or carrier as generally applied to the road haulage undertakings, whereby they should be able to require the Commission to purchase or acquire their assets on certain compensation terms if their business was injured by decision of the Commission—

It being Twelve o'Clock, The CHAIRMAN left the Chair to make his Report to the House.

Committee report Progress; to sit again this day.

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