CLAUSE 55.—(Default powers of Minister.) (Hansard, 5 June 1947)

§ Mr. Marquand

I beg to move, in page 47, line 39, after "Before," to insert "(a)."

Perhaps, in order to make sense of the matter, it would be for the convenience of the House if we also discussed the following Amendment: In page 47, line 39, at the end to insert: or (b) coming to a decision on any application made by a smallholdings authority for the revocation of such an order relating to them, being an application made not earlier than twelve months after the making of the order or of any previous application for the revocation thereof. These Amendments are designed to take account of a point raised by my hon. Friend the Member for North Norfolk (Mr. Gooch) and my hon. Friend the Member for South-West Norfolk (Mr. Dye) in Committee, namely, that a smallholdings authority should have an opportunity to make representations to the Minister before he rejected any application by that authority for the revocation of a default order. The Clause already provides that: Before making an Order … the Minister shall give to the smallholdings authority in question an opportunity of making representations … These two Amendments provide that where a default order has been made by the Minister, taking over certain functions of the authority because they have not been performed satisfactorily, the smallholdings authority may apply to the Minister for revocation of that order. If they do so apply, the Minister should afford them an opportunity of making representations to him before he rejects that revocation.