§ 41. Mr. John Hallasked the Attorney-General if the examination of the instances in which persons aggrieved can appeal against discretionary decisions has yet been completed; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Attorney-General (Sir John Hobson)No. The examination of a number of instances in which there is at present no appeal has been completed: in one, which concerns the registration of fertiliser merchants, a form of appeal has been provided by Section 5(4) of the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1963; in the others, Departments have recommended that no provision should be made for an appeal. A number of cases are, however, still under review.
§ Mr. HallDoes my right hon. and learned Friend recollect that when, on 8th November, 1962, he announced the Government's ill-advised rejection of the Whyatt Committee's proposals, it was stated that the Government had undertaken a detailed review of the extent to which aggrieved persons could 30 appeal against discretionary decisions? Is it not taking a very long time indeed to complete this review in its entirety, even for those who are handicapped by legal training?
§ The Attorney-GeneralA very large number of decisions have been taken about cases, of this nature and were decided some time ago. There was a residuum of cases, about half of which have already been decided, and there is a small number—nine in all, I think—which are still outstanding. That is the extent to which decisions are still awaited.
§ Sir G. NicholsonFor the benefit of those who are not handicapped by any knowledge of the subject, can my right hon. and learned Friend state how many cases there are?
§ The Attorney-GeneralThere were over 120 cases to begin with and about nine are still outstanding.