Eighth Schedule.—(MINOR AND CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS.) (Hansard, 7 May 1958)

§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health (Mr. Richard Thompson)

I beg to move, in page 68, line 44, at the end to insert: 19. The approval of the Minister of Health shall not be required for the making by a local authority of contributions under subsection (5) of section twenty-two, subsection (3) of section twenty-eight, or subsection (2) of section fifty-one of the National Health Service Act, 1946 (which empower local authorities to contribute to voluntary organisations concerned with the care of mothers and young children, the prevention of illness, the care or aftercare of the sick and matters arising under the Lunacy and Mental Treatment Acts and the Mental Deficiency Acts). The effect of this Amendment and of the two subsequent consequential ones is to remove the need for local health authorities to obtain the approval of the Minister of Health to make any contributions which they wish to make to voluntary organisations under Sections 22, 28 and 51 of the National Health Service Act, 1946. In the past, the Minister's approval has been generally very freely given, and I think the Committee will find this Amendment non-contentious.

§ Sir E. Boyle

I beg to move, in page 70, line 34, at the end to insert: 26. In section one hundred and fourteen of the Act of 1948 the proviso to subsection (2) shall cease to have effect, and in subsection (4) the words from the beginning to the first "any" shall cease to have effect and after the word "Parliament" there shall be inserted the words "under any enactment, whether passed before or after the passing of this Act". 1369 11.0 p.m.

Section 114 (4) of the 1948 Act lays down the principle that expenditure on allowances to members of local authorities shall not rank for Exchequer grants. There is an exception in the proviso to Subsection (2) in respect of members' travelling expenses in respect of certain educational conferences. This Amendment, and consequential Amendments, is designed to preserve this principle in the context of the general grant.

There is only one change of substance involved, namely, the repeal of the proviso to Subsection (2), and this will have the effect that, whereas travelling expenses paid to members of local authorities attending educational conferences have been eligible for education main grant, they will not be again as relevant expenditure for general grant purposes. This is a corollary of the decision that my right hon. Friend has reached, in consultation with local authority associations, to discontinue under the general grant the control at present exercised through regulations. But I can assure hon. Members that the amount of money involved really cannot be large enough to affect the calculation of the general grant to any substantial degree.