HC Deb 09 March 1965 vol 708 cc288-90

5.45 p.m.

Mr. John Mackie

I beg to move Amendment No. 7, in page 10, line 4, at the end, to insert: (2) Together with any estimate submitted under this section, the Authority shall submit to the Ministers proposals as to—

  1. (a) the kinds of home-grown cereals in respect of which a levy should be imposed, and
  2. (b) the apportionment of the amount specified in the estimate as between those kinds of home-grown cereals.
I wonder, Mr. Deputy-Speaker, whether it would be in order to discuss at some time the consequential Amendment, No. 17 in Schedule 3.

Mr. Deputy-Speaker

I have no objection if the House is agreeable.

Mr. Mackie

These Amendments also derive from an undertaking given in Committee when Amendments to the Clause moved by hon. Members opposite were discussed. The object of those Amendments was to require the Authority, when putting forward estimates or supplementary estimates to Ministers of the amount or amounts required to be raised by levy, to submit at the same time an apportionment of the amount or amounts involved as between the different kinds of home-grown cereals. I said that while the drafting of the Amendments as moved by hon. Members opposite was defective, the Government accepted the principle behind them and intended to incorporate that principle in the Bill.

The effect of the present Amendments will be to require the Authority, when it submits an estimate or supplementary estimate, to make proposals as to the kinds of home-grown cereals in respect of which a levy or supplementary levy should be imposed and as to the apportionment as between those kinds of cereals of the amount or amounts covered by the estimate. The Amendments therefore give effect to my undertaking and I hope that they will commend themselves to the House.

Mr. Scott-Hopkins

Once again, I am grateful to the Minister for following up his undertaking in Committee. I accept that when the Authority is putting forward both a normal estimate and a supplementary estimate, as provided in Schedule 3 it is now being asked to separate them between the various products—barley, wheat, oats and so on.

Is it clear that the Authority should do this also for its functions in Parts I and II and that under the Amendment they should be separated? I expected that the Amendment would come in twice, under both paragraph (a) and paragraph (b) of subsection (1). It is, however, a new subsection to the Clause. I assume, therefore, that it covers the point that the Authority will not only submit separate estimates for Part I and Part II, but that they will be subdivided and not a composite estimate, always assuming that Clause 8 is in operation and that the Authority is in the market. Unless the Authority does this, the whole operation will become pointless and unnecessary. If the Amendment achieves the purpose of ensuring separation, I am grateful to the Minister for fulfilling the undertaking which he gave at an earlier stage.

Mr. John Mackie

Yes, the Amendment ensures that the figures will be separated.

Amendment agreed to.