Clause 1.—(PREMISES TO WHICH THIS ACT APPLIES.) (Hansard, 26 July 1963)

§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour (Mr. William Whitelaw)
I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.
Perhaps it would meet the convenience of the House if we also discussed the allied Amendments in page 2, line 16, and page 55, line 11.
The House will recall that on Report we debated at some length the application of the Bill to a mail order business. I said then, and I take the opportunity to reaffirm now, that a mail order business will be covered by the wording of Clause 1(3,a,ii). Nevertheless, we promised to look again at the definitions in Clause 1, and our conclusion was that the definition of wholesale shop premises in Clause 1(3,a,iii) needed to be widened to include wholesale premises which do business with customers who do not resort to them.
The definition in the Bill as it left the House corresponded closely to that in Section 74(1) of the Shops Act and would have excluded wholesale premises to which customers do not resort. This would have excluded, for example, the wholesale counterpart of a mail order business. However, the welfare provisions in Section 38 of the Shops Act apply, among other things, to any warehouse occupied for the purpose of his trade by any wholesale dealer or merchant.
This is a wider definition, and, since the Bill is designed to repeal Section 38 of the Shops Act when it comes into force, we believe that the Amendment made in the other place, which left out the words "to persons resorting thereto", is necessary to avoid a situation in which the benefits of protective legislation are removed from some classes of workers.
The object of the Amendment to page 2, line 16 is to leave warehouses belonging to the owners of docks, wharves or quays 1982 within the Factories Act since that Act deals generally with safety, health and welfare in docks. On the other hand, the Amendment in page 55, line 11 transfers to this Bill from the Factories Act any wholesale warehouses which use mechanical power so that all wholesale warehouses, other than those in factories or belonging to owners of docks, may be dealt with under the Bill.

§ The Minister of Labour (Mr. John Hare)
I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.
Perhaps it would be convenient if, with this Amendment, we discussed the subsequent Amendments in line 37, to leave out "and", and in line 40, at end insert: (d) 'dock storage premises' means fuel storage premises which constitute or are comprised in premises to which certain provisions of the Factories Act 1961 apply by virtue of section 125(1) (docks, etc.) of that Act; and (e) 'colliery storage premises' means fuel storage premises which form part of premises which, for the purposes of the Mines and Quarries Act 1954, form part of a mine or quarry, other than premises where persons are regularly employed to work by a person other than the owner (as defined by that Act) of the mine or quarry.". When we looked again at the definition of fuel storage premises in Clause 1 we found that it would have brought within the scope places which we did not intend the Bill should cover. This arises from the fact that the National Coal Board and other owners of coal mines or opencast quarries are engaged in the sale of solid fuel and that some parts of the area immediately adjacent to the pithead or quarry are used for the storage of such fuel intended to be sold in the course of that trade or business". Therefore, the definition, as it left this House, would apply the Bill to most if not all of the places where colliery surface workers are employed. I do not think that this is the sort of place which we want the definition to cover. We wish to cover "land sale" depots in mine 1983 areas and depots in which coal merchants' employees or employees of outside contractors are regularly employed. But the employees of the Coal Board or other mine or quarry owner already enjoy the kind of benefits offered under the Bill. As the House knows, the welfare amenities for colliery workers are now of a very high standard and in addition these workers have the protection of the Mines and Quarries Act, 1954. It would be an unnecessary duplication, therefore, if they were covered by the Bill as well.
The Amendments moved in another place excluded the fuel storage premises at mines or quarries other than those premises where outside persons are employed to work. The Amendments do not change the application of the Bill to coal depots on the railways and in any other places away from mines and quarries.

§ Mr. Whitelaw
I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.
It may be convenient also to discuss the second Amendment in line 13, after first "premises" insert "(b)".; and the Amendment in line 15, at end insert or (c) premises wherein are carried on such processes or operations as are mentioned in section 123(1) (electrical stations) of the Factories Act 1961 and for such supply as is therein mentioned". The purpose of these Amendments is to exclude railway electrical supply stations from the definition of railway premises under the Bill. That is because Section 123 of the Factories Act applies and will continue to apply to those electrical stations. Office premises in these stations will, however, still come under the Bill by virtue of Clause 72(1).