§ Amendments made: In page 14, line 45, leave out "applicant" and insert "occupier".
§ In page 15, line 25, leave out "to the applicant".
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In line 29, leave out "applicant's periodical payments" and insert:
periodical payments to the authority as owner".
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In line 42, leave out from "that" to second "to" in line 43 and insert:
an amount equal to the relevant rates has not been paid".
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In line 46, leave out from "that" to end of line 1 on page 16 and insert:
an amount equal to the applicant's reckonable rates has not been paid".
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In page 16, line 7, leave out from first "the" to "as" in line 8 and insert:
appropriate amount has been paid".—[Mr. MacColl.]
§ Dr. Dickson MabonI beg to move Amendment No. 39, in page 16, line 34, at the end to insert:
and for the purposes of subsection (6) of this section, as it applies to Scotland, the Scottish Special Housing Association shall, in relation to any rating area as to which the Association and rating authority so agree, be treated as if it were a local authority".711 In our continuing discussions with the local authorities this has been suggested to us and we have asked the Scottish Special Housing Association how it responded to the suggestion. It agreed and, accordingly, the Amendment is designed to give the Scottish Special Housing Association a status equivalent to that of an owner authority for the purpose of affording rate rebate under subsection (6). The effect of the Amendment is that the S.S.H.A. and the particular rating authority may agree to a convenient method by which the rating authority can afford rebates to S.S.H.A. tenants, for example, by an adjustment of weekly payments made by the tenants to the S.S.H.A. to cover rates and rent. It is an Amendment peculiar to the Scottish situation, and I commend it to the House.
§ Mr. G. CampbellWould it be correct to interpret this Amendment as meaning that if the S.S.H.A. did not wish, for some reason, to do this in a rating area, it would not have to? In other words, does this have to be the result of an agreement between the S.S.H.A. and the rating authority,
§ Dr. MabonYes. We do not anticipate that this will be the case, because the S.S.H.A. as the hon. Gentleman knows, gets on very well with rating authorities, but the Amendment is dependent on agreement between both parties.
§ Amendment agreed to.