HC Deb 21 July 1961 vol 644 cc1655-8

Lords Amendment: In page 34, line 20, at end insert: 8. At the end of subsection (2) of section twenty-nine (which requires drainage boards to determine the annual value of land not assessed to income tax under Schedule A) there shall be added the words "having regard to the annual values, for the purposes of income tax under Schedule A, of comparable land in their district, other than those which have been ascertained by reference to rents fixed by agreements commencing after the end of March, nineteen hundred and forty-six".

Mr. Vane

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

This Amendment provides that where a drainage board determines the value of land not assessed to Income Tax under Schedule A for the purpose of levying drainage rates, it will have regard to the values of comparable neighbouring properties, and not base its estimate on any post-war rental values which might be widely out of line with the general level.

Question put and agreed to. [Special Entry.]

Lords Amendment: In page 36, line 26, at end insert: (4) Subsection (2) of that section, except in so far as it requires byelaws to be confirmed by the Minister, and subsections (3) to (7) thereof shall not apply to byelaws made by virtue of section thirty-three of this Act; and subsection (8) of the said section forty-seven shall apply in relation to such byelaws in substitution for section two hundred and fifty-one of the Local Government Act, 1933.

Mr. Vane

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

This Amendment ensures that the procedure used by local authorities in making byelaws under this Bill will be the same as that under their ordinary powers, and will not be that which a drainage board would follow.

Question put and agreed to.

Lords Amendment: In line 43, at end insert may be given subject to reasonable conditions but.

Mr. Vane

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

It would, I think, be for the convenience of the House if we discussed this together with the following Amendment, in line 52, at end insert or whether any condition subject to which any consent was given was reasonable. This Amendment empowers public utilities and similar undertakings to attach reasonable conditions when giving consent to drainage works affecting their property. The Bill amends Section 61 of the 1930 Act, which requires drainage boards to obtain consent before doing work affecting public utilities. The Bill amends this provision so that consents shall not be unreasonably withheld, and arbitration can cover the question whether consent has been unreasonably withheld.

The Amendment is designed to empower public utilities to attach reasonable conditions to their consents, and to provide that such conditions can also be subject to arbitration. It is a tricky point.

Question put and agreed to.

Subsequent Lords Amendment agreed to.

Lords Amendment: In line 52, after the word last inserted, insert: (5) The references in the said section sixty-one to the Act of 1930 shall be construed as including references to section forty-five of this Act.

Mr. Vane

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

This Amendment, again, is to protect public utilities and similar undertakings against entry on their land by private persons empowered by agricultural land tribunals to carry out improvement work. This does not exempt public utilities from doing their clear ditty, but there is a public safety element involved here, for instance, in the case of railway embankments. I think that the House will see the point of the Amendment, and, I hope, will agree to it.

Question put and agreed to.

Lords Amendment: In page 38, line 8, leave out "the end of the subsection" and insert "'river board area'".

Mr. Vane

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

This Amendment is entirely a question of drafting. It will have the effect of reinstating the definition of "expenses" in Section 10 of the 1948 Act where it has been deleted by the Bill it is no more than a drafting point. The Amendment to paragraph 29 of the First Schedule has the incidental effect of repealing the definition of expenses in Section 10 of the River Boards Act, 1948, which, in fact, we want to stand. Therefore, by changing these words we avoid that deletion being effective.

Question put and agreed to. [Special Entry.]

Lords Amendment: In line 34, leave out "except in an emergency".

Mr. Soames

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

I think that it would be for the convenience of the House if we discuss with this Amendment, the following one, in line 35, at end insert: after the words 'shall not' there shall be inserted the words 'except in an emergency, and for the words 'twenty-four hours' there shall be substituted the words 'seven days'". This Amendment makes the same changes in relation to powers of entry as I have already described in regard to Amendments to page 26, lines 34 and 42. It provides that river boards, except in an emergency, will give at least seven days' notice before they enter residential property as other land with heavy equipment.

Question put and agreed to.

Subsequent Lords Amendment agreed to.

Lords Amendment: In page 38, line 37, to leave out "Minister" and insert "Ministers".

Mr. Vane

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

It will be convenient to discuss, also, the two following Amendments, which have roughly the same effect, in line 39, leave out "Minister" and insert "Ministers", and in line 40, leave out "him" and insert "them".

These are important Amendments, because they concern the making of Orders in such circumstances as changing the constitution of a river board, where the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government is involved, as well as that of my right hon. Friend. I therefore hope that the House will think it correct that in this part of the Bill we should have the plural rather than the singular.

Question put and agreed to.

Remaining Lords Amendments agreed to.