HC Deb 20 February 1957 vol 565 c524

Considered in Committee of the whole House 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 provide for the dissolution of the Central Electricity Authority and the establishment of a Central Electricity Generating Board and an Electricity Council, it is expedient to authorise any increase in the sums which may be required—

  1. (a) to be issued out of the Consolidated Fund for enabling advances to be made by the Minister of Power, or
  2. (b) to be raised by the Treasury, or
  3. (c) to be paid into the Exchequer, or
  4. (d) to be issued out of the Consolidated Fund and applied in redeeming or paying off debt or paying interest,
being an increase attributable to any provisions of that Act for amending section forty-two of the Finance Act, 1956, by substituting a reference to the said Council for the reference to the said Authority in subsection (2) of that section.—[Mr. Maudling.]

8.12 p.m.

Sir Frank Soskice (Newport)

I wish to ensure that we shall have a word of explanation of the purpose of this second Money Resolution.

The Paymaster-General (Mr. Reginald Maudling)

I was awaiting the appropriate moment, Sir Charles.

The necessity for this Money Resolution arises from the proposal to advance the vesting date for the new Electricity Council from 1st April to 1st January, 1958. Section 42 of the Finance Act, 1956, provides that the Treasury can advance money to the electricity supply industry up to 31st March, 1958, but of course only to the existing Central Electricity Authority. If we do not have a Money Resolution of this kind we shall find that if the new Electricity Council comes into being on 1st January, it will have no power to obtain money from the Treasury, while the Treasury will have power to lend money only to an authority which has ceased to exist.

The effect of the Money Resolution is to enable us to provide that money which the Treasury would have lent to the Central Electricity Authority will in fact be lent to the Electricity Council.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolution to be reported Tomorrow.