Clause 14.—(MINISTER'S POWER TO MAKE, OF HIS OWN MOTION, ORDERS FOR LIMITED PURPOSES FOR SECURING HARBOUR EFFICIENCY.) (Hansard, 4 March 1964)

§ Vice-Admiral Hughes Hallett

I beg to move, in page 13, to leave out lines 27 and 28 and to insert: he may, if he is satisfied as mentioned in subsection (2)(b) of the last foregoing section, make the order despite the fact that no application to him for the making of it is forthcoming 1397 from the authority engaged in improving, maintaining or managing the harbour or from any such person or representative body as is mentioned in subsection (2)(a) of that section". 7.45 p.m.

The purpose of this Amendment is to allow the Minister to make a harbour revision order under Clause 14 notwithstanding the fact that no application is forthcoming from the harbour authority or from any other person. The Clause as it originally stood allowed the making of orders under the Clause only in the case where the Minister was satisfied that no application for the order was likely to be forthcoming. This limitation was deleted in Committee on the grounds that it placed upon my right hon. Friend unnecessarily a requirement to assess and to come to a conclusion on what might be held to be a matter of opinion, indeed, a hypothetical matter. It is desirable, however, to indicate quite specifically that the Minister may make the order of his own motion only in the absence of an application.