§ The Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain shall have power to enforce the provisions of this Act, and for that purpose may employ the inspectors appointed by them under Section twenty-five of the Pharmacy and Poisons Act, 1933, but nothing in this Section shall be construed as authorising the Society to institute proceedings in Scotland for any offence under this Act.—[Mr. J. Edwards]
§ Brought up, and read the First time.
Mr. EdwardsI beg to move, "That the Clause be read a Second time."
The object of this new Clause is to empower the Pharmaceutical Society to enforce the provisions of the Bill and for that purpose to employ their inspectors. The duty of enforcing the provisions of the Pharmacy and Poisons Act, 1933, is placed on the Pharmaceutical Society which for that purpose employs pharmacists as inspectors and the Society has a similar duty under the Pharmacy and 2172 Medicines Act, 1941. It seems to us, therefore, reasonable that they should also-be able to enforce the provisions of the Penicillin Bill, though this of course would be entirely without prejudice to the general duty of the police to enforce the law. So far as England and Wales are concerned, they would in the exercise of those powers be able to institute proceedings as they can under the Acts which I have already quoted. In Scotland, however, the Pharmaceutical Society are under the existing law not empowered actually to institute proceedings, and therefore the new Clause provides that they do not have those powers under the Bill.
§ Mr. LinsteadI am fairly certain I can follow what the Parliamentary Secretary has said, but with regard to Scotland do I understand the situation to be that these inspectors may obtain evidence and information but that the actual prosecution following the usual criminal law procedure in Scotland will be by the Procurator Fiscal?
§ Clause read a Second time, and added to the Bill.