HC Deb 25 April 1967 vol 745 cc1384-5
The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. William Ross)

I beg to move Amendment No. 4, in page 4, line 30, to leave out "total" and to insert "rateable".

I suggest that it would be convenient to discuss with this Amendment, Amendments Nos. 5 and 6.

Mr. Deputy Speaker

If that is the wish of the House.

Mr. Ross

These three Amendments meet an undertaking which the Minister gave in Committee, and are a modification of an Opposition Amendment which was slightly defective.

The Amendments clarify what is already intended by the subsection—that in determining the number of members of a regional water board which each local authority is to appoint, the Secretary of State is to have regard to rateable valuation as well as to the population of each local authority district in the region. The principle here is to relate membership to two main criteria: the way in which the board's expenditure will fall to be met by the constituent authority and the population which each authority will comprise.

The Clause as drafted, however, refers to "total valuation". The Minister accepted the Opposition's criticism that this might tend to be confusing in the absence of any definition of that expression in the Bill. The intention is that, as recommended by the Scottish Water Advisory Committee, the measure should be "rateable valuation", which is defined in Section 43(1) of the Valuation and Rating (Scotland) Act, 1956, as: in relation to any area, means the total of the rateable values of the lands and heritages in that area". Amendments Nos. 5 and 6 are consequential.

Mr. MacArthur

I was a little depressed to hear the right hon. Gentleman say that the Amendment we moved in Committee was slightly defective. Apparently, in his view it was wholly defective. I still believe that it was a very good Amendment. However, the Secretary of State has been generous enough to concede the principle of that Amendment. We are obliged to him for meeting our point. The slight modification he has made to our proposal is acceptable, and I hope that the House will approve it.

Amendment agreed to.

Further Amendments made: No. 5, in line 32, after 'subsection', insert '(a)'.

No. 6, in line 34, at end insert: '; and (b) the expression "rateable valuation" has the meaning assigned to it by section 43(1) of the Valuation and Rating (Scotland) Act 1956'.—[Mr. Ross.]