SUNDAY CINEMATOGRAPH ENTERTAINMENTS (Hansard, 18 February 1947)

§ The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Ede)
I beg to move, "That the Order made by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, extending Section 1 of the Sunday Entertainments Act, 1932, to the Urban District of Skelton and Brotton, a copy of which Order was presented on 14th February, be approved."
I am glad to see the right hon. Gentleman the Member for North Leeds (Mr. Peake) in his place, because on an occasion a few days ago when one of these Orders was down for discussion he called attention to the fact that no representative of the Home Office was present to move it. Of course, the right hon. Gentleman had a very distinguished career as Under-Secretary to the Home Department, and therefore is aware of the practice in these matters. On that occasion a few days ago I was under Royal Command and was unable to be here. My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State was in the country, and we had handed to my hon. Friend the Junior Lord of the Treasury all the papers relating to the case, which the right hon. Gentleman had mentioned, and whose queries if he had any would have been effectively answered by the Junior Lord of the Treasury. The right hon. Gentleman can rest assured that on all occasions when these Orders are down on 1141 the Paper there is full information in the House in order that they may be answered. I have only one other thing to say. I have compared our record to the record of the right hon. Gentleman when he was Under-Secretary, and I do not think that there is any need for further comment on the matter.

§ Mr. Osbert Peake (Leeds, North)
I am sure we all wish to agree in the main with the Motion which is before the House, but the Home Secretary has used the occasion to draw attention to the fact that there was some comment when a Motion standing in his name a few days ago was not moved by a representative of his Department. I must confess that it seemed to me to be of primary importance, even in relatively unimportant matters and Orders standing in the name of the Secretary of State or the Under-Secretary, that the person concerned shall be in the House in order to move the Order when it is called. The right hon. Gentleman says he has taken some trouble to ascertain what my record as Under-Secretary was. I am only surprised that he should have employed one of his hard-working officials to make researches back over a number of years in order to ascertain what my record was.

§ Mr. Ede
I made the researches myself.

§ Mr. Peake
The right hon. Gentleman says that he did it himself. I was nearly five years at the Home Office and I moved many hundreds of these Orders. I am 1142 only sorry that the right hon. Gentleman wasted so much of his time.

§ Mr. Deputy-Speaker (Major Milner)
I should point out that I was not aware of what the Home Secretary proposed to say, but as I allowed him to make a statement, I thought it right to permit a reply from the Opposition benches, though the whole matter was not strictly in Order.