HC Deb 25 June 1947 vol 439 cc628-30

(1) This section applies to the companies (in this Act referred to as "composite companies") who are specified in Part II of the Schedule (Authorised undertakers to whom Part II of Act applies) to this Act, being companies who, by virtue of any enactment supply gas, or gas and water, as well a electricity: Provided that this section shall not apply to any such company who serve on the Minister, not later than two months after the passing of this Act, a notice stating that they do not wish this section to apply to them, and references in this Act, except in the said Schedule, to composite companies shall not be construed as referring to any company who have served such a notice.

(2) The provisions of section thirteen of this Act shall, in the case of composite companies, only apply to property held or used by the company wholly or mainly in their capacity as authorised undertakers, and to rights, liabilities and obligations acquired or incurred by the company in the said capacity, and accordingly references in that section to the property, rights, liabilities and obligations of a body to whom Part II of this Act applies, or to any agreement to which any such body was a party, or to documents referring to any such body, or to legal proceedings or applications by or against any such body shall be construed as references to property held or used by the company wholly or mainly in their capacity as authorised undertakers, and rights, liabilities and obligations acquired or incurred by the company in the said capacity or, as the case may be, to agreements, documents, legal proceedings or applications of or relating to the company in their capacity as authorised undertakers, and subsection (13) of the said section shall not apply to any composite company.

(3) Any questions arising under this section as to whether any property is or was held or used by a composite company wholly or mainly in their capacity as authorised undertakers or whether any rights, liabilities or obligations were acquired or incurred by any such company in the said capacity or whether any agreements or documents relate to any such company in the said capacity or whether any agreements or documents relate to any such company in the said capacity shall, in default of agreement, be determined by arbitration under this Act, and the arbitration tribunal shall have regard to whether or not entries relating to any property, rights or liabilities were or ought to have been included in the accounts furnished by the company to the Electricity Commissioners under section nine of the Electric Lighting Act, 1882.

(4) Subsections (2) and () of section fourteen of this Act shall apply to a composite company in like manner as they apply to a local authority, subject to the modification that for references to the Minister of Health there shall be substituted references to the Minister.

(5) Regulations may make provision—

  1. (a) for the apportionment of, and the making of financial adjustments with respect to, any liabilities incurred by a composite company partly in their capacity as authorised undertakers and partly in other capacities, and for any necessary variation of mortagages and incumbrances relating to such liabilities; and
  2. (b) for the apportionment of cash and investments held by a, composite company partly in their capacity aforesaid and partly in other capacities.

(6) Where any property of a composite company which vest's by virtue of this Act in an Electricity Board is subject to any mortgage or other incumbrance created for the purpose of securing a debt which does not' so vest in the Board and is not apportioned as between the Board and the company, the property shall vest free of that mortgage or incumbrance.

(7) The Electricity Board in whom any property, rights, liabilities or obligations of any composite company vest by virtue of this Act shall make available to the company such facilities for the examination of and the making of extracts from or copies of books, accounts and documents relating to the electricity undertaking of the company as the company may reasonably require for the purposes of this Act and for other purposes arising out of the carrying on of the company's business, and such services of officers of the, Board as they may reasonably require to enable them to make use of those facilities. —[Mr. Gaitskell.]

Brought up, and read the First time.

1.30 a.m.

Mr. Gaitskell

I beg to move, "That the Clause be read a Second time."

This is another matter upon which we have never felt very strongly and upon which we have changed our minds. In the Bill as originally drafted, there was no specific provision for the separation of gas, or, for that matter, water, from the electricity part of undertakings. We took the view that perhaps the simplest way was to take them over, as the gas industry would like them to be nationalised in due course; and, for the time being, to have the gas side of the undertaking managed separately, to be passed on in due course to the new organisation set up. But we had to consider the matter in the light of the particular views represented to us by some of the larger composite companies, who pointed out that it would be awkward for the gas undertakings we were to take over, to be separated, from the undertakings by which they were controlled.

It was really the problem of the gas holding companies which brought us to the conclusion that our original plan would not be entirely unsatisfactory, and accordingly, we devised a method by which only the electricity part of the undertakings would be taken over, unless, of course, the companies themselves opted, as they have a right to do, to be taken over as a whole. That is the purpose of this new Clause. The proposal which the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Southport (Mr. R. S. Hudson) made, that Clause 14 should apply in this case is, I think he will find, taken care of in the actual words of the new Clause.

Clause read a Second time, and added to the Bill.