Mr. VaneI beg to move, in page 2, line 13, to leave out from the beginning to "under" and to insert:
precepts are issued in that year by the rivet board".This Amendment is on a plane quite different from that of the two new Clauses which we have been discussing. This is nothing more than a consequential Amendment in order to clarify a small Amendment made in Standing Committee.Hon. Members on that Committee will remember that in order to secure equivalency between the precept rate and the new drainage charges, we originally arranged to compare the precept for one year with the drainage charge for the succeeding year. In fact, the precept and the rating years both end at the same time of year, and we thought that we should have that staggering, as it were, to ensure that the arrangements were practicable.
We have since been assured by the River Boards' Association that it feels that to be unnecessary and that it would rather operate this equivalency between the drainage charge and the precept rate of the same year. Hence we have put down this Amendment in order to put it beyond doubt that the words in the Clause mean what I have explained. This is simply a question of a tense, and I hope that hon. Members will realise that that is all that we are trying to effect.
§ Amendment agreed to.