CLAUSE 17.—(Dispossession on grounds of bad husbandry.) (Hansard, 5 June 1947)

§ The Solicitor-General (Sir Frank Soskice)
I beg to move, in page 17, line 44, at the end, to insert: (6) Where under paragraph (a) of Subsection (1) of this Section an order is made terminating the interest of a tenant in part only of a holding (as defined in the said Act of 1923 and Part III of this Act),—

(a) the said provisions relating to compensation shall apply as if the part to which the order relates were a separate holding: and

(b) the tenant shall be entitled to a reduction of rent proportionate to the part to which the order relates, and the amount of that reduction shall be settled by arbitration under the said Act of 1923."
This Clause deals with dispossession on the ground of bad husbandry, and as it now stands an order can relate to either the whole or part of a holding, but there is no provision as to how the Clauses for compensation are to apply if a dispossession order has been made only in relation to part of a holding instead of the whole of the holding. This Amendment provides that, when an order relates only to part of the holding, that part shall be treated as a separate holding for the purpose of compensation. In other words, it means that compensation shall be related to the part of the holding affected by the dispossession order. This Amendment remedies what is an omission in the Clause as at present drafted though it is not a drafting Amendment.

§ Major Sir Thomas Dugdale (Richmond)
I wish to thank the Solicitor-General for his explanation and we on this side of the Committee readily accept the Amendment.

§ Mr. T. Williams
I beg to move, in page 18, line 1, to leave out subsection (6), and to insert: (6) Where the interest of an occupier in any land is terminated under Subsection (1) of this Section, or an occupier is required thereunder to give up his occupation of any land, and at any time after the date specified for the purposes of that subsection the occupier remains in possession of the land, the Minister may make complaint to a court of summary jurisdiction and thereupon the court shall by its warrant order vacant possession of the land to be given to the Minister forthwith. A warrant under this Subsection shall subject to the necessary modifications be in the form set out in the Schedule to the Small Tenements Recovery Act, 1838, or in a form to the like effect. During the discussions in Committee a great deal of criticism was expressed because a constable could act without securing any specific authority in a dispossession case. My hon. and learned Friend the Member for Gloucester (Mr. Turner-Samuels) was very hot on this particular business, and I made a promise to reconsider the whole thing. The effect of the Amendment is that, instead of conferring upon a constable the power to eject an occupier who has been dispossessed, the Minister is now given power to go to a court of summary jurisdiction and ask for a warrant. With such a warrant a constable will have the necessary authority to eject an occupier who has refused to quit. The court cannot consider the merits of the case. It can only consider whether or not the agricultural land tribunal have done their duty. All the court will have power to do is to satisfy itself that the necessary steps leading up to dispossession have been taken, and then, if the court is satisfied, it must issue the warrant to 413 the constable who can perform his duty. I think that that coincides with the desires expressed in Standing Committee.

§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd (Mid-Bedford)
This change represents a very definite improvement in the Bill, and we are grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for the step he has taken. I hope he will recognise, as a matter of historical accuracy, that it was the Opposition who first drew attention to this particular danger, although we are most grateful for the help of the hon. and learned Gentleman the Member for Gloucester (Mr. Turner-Samuels). The change has now been made and we, of course, support it.

§ Mr. Turner-Samuels
I should like to add a word of thanks to the Minister. This matter was the subject of some difficulty in Committee, and it is good to know that he has looked at it and that the change, which is very welcome, is now to be made.