CLAUSE 13.—(Mode of provision of accommodation and maintenance.) (Hansard, 28 June 1948)

§ Mr. Younger
I beg to move, in page 10, line 14, at the end, to insert: The approval by the Secretary of State of any premises for the purposes of this subsection shall have effect for such period as he may from time to time determine, but—

(a) the Secretary of State may at any time withdraw his approval notwithstanding that the period for which it was given has not expired,

(b) the Secretary of State shall not give or continue his approval for the purposes of this subsection unless he is satisfied that suitable alternative accommodation is not for the time being available.

Some disquiet was shown about the question of the approval the Secretary of State was authorised to give to accommodation of children under three in premises provided under the National Assistance Act which are now used solely for nursery purposes. This Amendment seeks to meet the apprehensions which were expressed, and lays down that the Secretary of State shall not approve the use of such premises, or continue his approval, unless he is satisfied that suitable alternative accommodation is not available for the time being.

§ Commander Galbraith
We are very glad indeed that this Amendment has been put down together with the following Amendment. They meet the point of view we expressed during the Committee stage.

§ Mr. K. Lindsay
I, too, should like to express our thanks for this Amendment, and especially for the following Amendment in which I am more keenly interested. There is one thing still remaining, and that is the lack of continuity in the care of the child. If the child is under three it is treated as one child, and if it is over three as another child. I hope that as soon as possible we shall have continuity of treatment throughout the child's life.

§ Mr. Younger
I beg to move, in page 10, line 17, to leave out from "may," to the end of line 18.
This Amendment and the following Amendment relate to accommodation for 1857 children aged three or over in premises provided under the National Assistance Act. The Secretary of State is empowered to approve an extension of the period of 14 days, and it was suggested in Committee that he should not give his approval for any great length of time at one time, but that the matter should come up automatically for review every so often. The object of the Amendment is to ensure that children shall not be left for an unduly long period of time purely due to inertia. As in the case of the previous Amendment, we hope that this provision will be only for a temporary period, and I can give that assurance to the hon. Member for the Combined English Universities (Mr. K. Lindsay).

§ Sir T. Moore
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for having gone so far in meeting the argument we put forward during the Committee stage, but I rather think that the Amendments have not gone quite far enough. I should like to see inserted after the word "periods" in line 21 such words as "if convinced that no other suitable accommodation is available." That imposes an obligation on the Secretary of State not to renew his authority unless satisfied that no other suitable accommodation is available. I ask the right hon. Gentleman to bear in mind that people will be rather anxious and worried, not in regard to his interpretation of his responsibilities, but in regard to the interpretation of others who may follow him. I hope we can have some assurance that something will be done to make certain the period is not renewed unless the Secretary of State is fully satisfied that no alternative accommodation is available.