HC Deb 27 July 1954 vol 531 c418

Lords Amendment: In page 47, line 4, after "assessor" insert: shall be at such rate as may be determined by the Lord Chancellor with the approval of the Treasury and.

The Solicitor-General

I beg to move, "That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment."

Mr. Deputy-Speaker

This Amendment involves privilege, and if the House agrees with it I shall direct that special entry be made in the Journals of the House.

The Solicitor-General

The Bill as it stands says that the assessors are to be paid out of public funds, but it does not expressly say who would settle on what particular rate of payment. This Amendment covers that small difficulty.

Mr. Hale

I do not want to oppose the Amendment at all, and I shall not keep the House more than a couple of seconds. If we are going to fix these sums, I personally think it is a bad thing to give it to a person with £12,000 a year. It would be far better to leave it to Members of Parliament with their small salaries to fix this. It would be of great aid to the country.