HC Deb 15 July 1965 vol 716 cc963-5

Lords Amendment No. 8: In page 16, line 7, after Amendment last inserted, insert new Clause B: B.—As soon as may be after the end of March 1966 and after the end of March in each subsequent year the Board of Trade shall prepare a report on the performance of their functions under this Part of this Act, and shall lay the report before Parliament.

Mr. Jay

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

The proposal here is that the Government should make an annual report to Parliament on the operation of the office control. That seems to us a reasonable proposal. It would, no doubt, conveniently coincide with the Board of Trade's present reports on the use of the I.D.C.s under the Local Employment Act. We, are, therefore, very glad to accept this proposal.

Mr. Channon

May I say what an admirable Amendment this is and how grateful we are that the Government have agreed to accept it.

Could the Minister say what sort of things will be included in this report? Presumably there will be a list of office development permits which have been applied for, those which have been accepted and those which have been rejected in the various areas to which the Bill applies. Also, will the London area be split up slightly more selectively instead of dealing with the area as a whole? The President of the Board of Trade has said on many occasions that it will be necessary to deal with different parts of the London region in slightly different ways.

Will the report reflect his policy as it is split up for Central London and for outer London? This would be extremely valuable, as it would enable people to know exactly how the right hon. Gentleman administers the Act in each year of its operation. I hope that he will be able to give an explanation, though not necessarily tonight, of the way these reports will be prepared, and that he will say whether he will be able to go into slightly more detail than merely dealing with them region by region.

Can it be shown how the Act is operating in each county or county borough, or some suitable area that is defined such as the London region or any other region that may come under the Act?

Mr. Jay

I would not like to suggest that we have fully and in detail decided on the form that these reports should take. However, I have taken note of what the hon. Gentleman for Southend, West (Mr. Channon) has said. It is in mind at present to give the total number of O.D.P.s which have been approved, the total number rejected, and perhaps the square footage involved in each case. I would have thought, again subject to further consideration, that it would probably have been possible to divide those figures into broad areas, such as the Greater London Council area on the one hand and the rest of the metropolitan region on the other. But we have not finally decided the details.

Mr. Peter Emery

May I support the plea that details should be given of the number of rejections, because only then will it be possible to judge what is happening? I should like a direct assurance, if it could be given, that the number of rejections will be included in a report.

Question put and agreed to.