HC Deb 09 December 1954 vol 535 cc1239-40

Considered in Committee under Standing Order No. 84 (Money Committees).—(Queen's Recommendation signified.)

[Sir CHARLES MACANDREW in the Chair]

Motion made, and Question proposed, That, for the purposes of any Act of the present Session to increase contributions and (benefit under the National Insurance (Industrial Injuries) Acts, 1946 to 1953, and the National Insurance Acts, 1946 to 1953, it is expedient to authorise the payment out of moneys provided by Parliament—

  1. (a) of any increase in the sums payable out of moneys so provided under—
    1. (i) paragraph (b) of section two or subsection (1) of section sixty of the National Insurance (Industrial Injuries) Act, 1946; or
    2. (ii) subsection (3) of section two of the National Insurance Act, 1946 (as amended by section one of the National Insurance Act, 1951), or subsection (1) of section thirty-eight of the National Insurance Act, 1946,
    which is attributable to any provision made by the said Act of the present Session for increasing any rates or amounts of contributions or benefits under the National Insurance (Industrial Injuries) Act, 1946, or the National Insurance Act, 1946;
  2. (b) of contributions to the National Insurance Fund (additional to the Exchequer supplements) in respect of the period of five years beginning with the first day of April, nineteen hundred and fifty-five, not exceeding in all three hundred and twenty-five million pounds.—[Mr. Peake.]

10.0 p.m.

Mr. Jay

I only want briefly to ask for an assurance now, on behalf of my hon. Friends, that it will be possible, within the terms of the Money Resolution, to put down certain important Amendments to the Bill. For reasons we all know, the Bill is being rushed rather rapidly through the House. We have no desire to delay it, but we wish to put down certain important Amendments and we would like to be assured at this stage that they will be within the terms of the Resolution.

Those Amendments will cover three main topics. First, we shall seek to move Amendments to reduce the contributions of the contributors into the Fund. I take it that that will not be out of order, because a reduction in a contribution of that kind from the employer or employee will not automatically impose any charge upon the Exchequer. Secondly, in certain cases we shall seek to move Amendments to increase some of the benefits. Since those benefits are paid out of the Fund, I understand that they will also be in order. Thirdly, we may wish to move that the Exchequer supplement ought to he increased.

On the face of it, it might appear to most of us that that would impose a charge upon the Exchequer and would not normally be in order, but so far as I can understand from the terms of this Money Resolution it would, in fact, be in order to move an Amendment of that kind. I hope that the Minister can assure us upon these matters.

Mr. Peake

So far as it is within my power I am most happy to meet the right hon. Gentleman's wishes. I must say, however, that what is or what is not in order is not a matter which the Government can control; it is bound to be a matter for the Chairman of the Committee of the whole House. But I would say that this Financial Resolution has been drawn with an eye to the three points mentioned by the right hon. Gentleman and, so far as we know, all three matters to which he has specifically referred will be in order during the Committee stage of the Bill.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolution to be reported Tomorrow.