HC Deb 03 December 1951 vol 494 cc2174-5

Motion made, and Question proposed, That the Mineral Development Charge Setoff (Scotland) Regulations, 1951, dated 1st October, 1951, a copy of which was laid before this House on 4th October, 1951, in the last Parliament, be approved.—[Commander Galbraith.]

10.45 p.m.

Mr. C. N. Thornton-Kemsley (Angus, North, and Mearns)

My purpose in rising is to seek an assurance from the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, who, I believe, is prepared to reply to this Motion, that it is the intention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland to bring forward amending legislation to the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act, 1947, at the earliest possible moment.

May I remind the House that these Regulations make very definite inroads into the compensation provided under Part V of the Scottish Act of 1947? By the terms of that Act, the global sum, fixed in the corresponding English Act, was determined, and by the terms of these Regulations a prior claim for payment at 100 per cent. is being given to a certain class of owners. The matter has been debated on the corresponding English Regulations, and I want to seek an assurance that it is the intention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to regard these Regulations as a temporary measure only, pending a full overhaul of the financial provisions of the 1947 Act.

The Joint Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Commander T. D. Galbraith)

I can assure my hon. Friend that my right hon. Friend is considering the matters to which he has referred.

Question put, and agreed to.