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Lords Amendment: In page 1, line 11, after "shall" insert:
save as provided in Part I of the First Schedule to this Act,".
§ 9.54 p.m.
§ The Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs (Mr. Henry Brooke)I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.
This is one of three Amendments that are linked together, and it would, perhaps, be convenient if they could be discussed together. This Amendment goes with that in page 1, line 13, and with that in page 47, line 45.
The purpose of these Amendments is to give effect to what was always the intention of preserving the police grant in respect of expenditure on providing and maintaining vehicles and equipment used by police forces in enforcing the law relating to road traffic. This expenditure also attracts at present a grant from the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation under the Road Traffic Act, 1930. This Ministry grant is to be superseded by the general grant, and expenditure of this type is accordingly made "relevant expenditure" in the First Schedule.
The Amendments are necessary because the Bill as it left this House would have the unintended effect of replacing the police grant on this part of police expenditure as well as the separate 356 Ministry of Transport grant. I think there is no doubt what the original intention was. Frankly, there was a mistake in the drafting of the Bill which it is thus necessary to ask Parliament to agree to correct in order that the original intention may be fulfilled.
§ Mr. G. R. Mitchison (Kettering)This only illustrates the kind of confusion that arises out of the general grant system and out of attempting to keep the police service at all costs out of it.
§ Question put and agreed to. [Special Entry.]
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Further Lords Amendments agreed to: In line 12, after "payable" insert:
for those years under any enactment passed before this Act."—[Special Entry.]
§ In line 13, leave out from "in" to "and" in line 14 and insert "the said Part I."