HC Deb 29 April 1947 vol 436 c1882
Mr. G. R. Strauss

I beg to move, in page 6, line 7, to leave out "so, however, that he," and to insert: and the Commission shall give effect to any such directions: Provided that the Minister. This is the first of a series of Amendments designed to meet a point raised in Committee by hon. Members opposite, who pointed out that there was a certain ambiguity in the phrasing which appeared in several parts of the Bill saying that the Minister could give instructions to the Commission. Although those instructions were of a specific nature, the words were set in that form so as to make it perfectly clear that the Minister had power to give instructions in that respect and that the matter was not one of national interest but of specific interest—geographically or something of that kind. We promised to look into the point raised by hon. Members that these words, which appear in many places in the Bill, might be read in two ways, and we realised that they had read them in the wrong sense. In order to avoid any doubt here and in the other places in the Bill to which I have referred, we have redrafted the wording so that the situation is perfectly clear and can no longer be read in two ways.

Amendment agreed to.