§ Mr. J. EdwardsI beg to move, in page 21, line 15, at the end, to insert:
(3) Not later than the date on which any such scheme is submitted to the Minister by the council of a county, that council shall send a copy of the scheme—This Amendment is in substitution for one moved in Standing Committee by the hon. and gallant Member for West Edinburgh (Lieut.-Commander Hutchison) which received a great deal of support from both sides of the Committee. It provides that before a county council's scheme for the discharge of functions under Part III of the Bill is approved by the Minister a copy of the scheme shall be sent to the councils of county districts, and, in London, to the Common Council of the City of London and the council of each metropolitan borough and that those authorities will have an opportunity to make representations with respect to the scheme. All these authorities are housing authorities responsible as such for housing the great majority of the old people who are able wholly to look after themselves in their own homes. On both sides of the Standing Committee it was thought that these authorities had something to contribute to the solution of the problems of the minority of old people, of the blind and of the handicapped. I remember that my hon. Friend the Member for South Tottenham (Mr. Messer) said that the county councils might gain something from their observations and that the county councils had not a monopoly of intelligence.and the Minister before approving the scheme shall take into consideration any representations by any such council as is referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection made with respect to the scheme within one month from the date on which it was submitted to the Minister.
- (a) in the case of London to the Common Council of the City of London and to the council of each metropolitan borough;
- (b) in the case of any other county, to the council of each county district in the county;
Although this Amendment does not follow quite the lines put forward originally in the Committee, I think it meets the views then expressed. It is the intention of the Minister to urge on county councils that they shall consult not only the local authorities but also the appropriate voluntary bodies within their areas 694 in the preparation of their schemes. We shall do that administratively. In so far as the views of the smaller authorities are not obtained in this way, those authorities will be able to submit their views to the Minister and the Minister is required by this Amendment to take into consideration any such representations before he approves a scheme. I hope this is what the Standing Committee really wanted.
§ Mr. MolsonI do not propose to get up every time to thank the Government for the Amendments they have put down, but my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for West Edinburgh (Lieut-Commander Hutchison) is most grateful to the Government for this one. The only reason he is not here today is not any lack of interest in the Bill, as was shown in the Standing Committee, but because he had a long-standing engagement in his constituency.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ The Solicitor-General for Scotland (Mr. Johnston)I beg to move, in page 21, line 46, at the end, to insert:
(7) This Section shall have effect in its application to Scotland, as if for Subsection (3) the following Subsection were substituted:(3) Not later than the date on which any scheme made under Section twenty of this Act is submitted to the Minister by the council of a county, the council shall send a copy of the scheme to the town council of each small burgh in the county and the Minister before approving the scheme shall take into consideration any representations by any such town council made with respect to the scheme within one month from the date on which it was submitted to the Minister.The reason for this Amendment is substantially the same as that given for the immediately preceding Amendment, save in its application to Scotland. Hon. Gentlemen will recollect that Clause 20 provides that a local authority shall, in certain circumstances, provide accommodation. The provision of accommodation is also the concern of small burghs, and accordingly the Amendment provides that the schemes prepared by the county councils shall be intimated to the small burghs for their observations to the Secretary of State before they come into effect. I regret that the suggestion made in the Committee that there should also be intimation to the district councils cannot be 695 given effect to, the reason being that the district councils are substantially the same persons as those who are on the county councils.
§ Lieut.-Colonel ElliotI think it would be appropriate to congratulate the Solicitor-General for Scotland on a maiden speech of great interest, uncommon cogency, and of a completely non-partisan nature. The transition from the hurly-burly of election time to the House of Commons is always interesting, and, of course, the making of one's maiden speech from the Front Bench is still more of an ordeal. I may say on behalf of my right hon. and hon. Friends that we congratulate the Solicitor-General on his speech and hope that on many future occasions we shall hear him on similar mellifluous and acceptable propositions.
§ Amendment agreed to.