§ Any dispute arising from the operation of the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act shall be determined by the Secretary of State or by an arbiter appointed by him.—[Dr. Dickson Mabon.]
§ Brought up, and read the First time.
§ Dr. Dickson MabonI beg to move, That the Clause be read a Second time.
This Clause replaces subsection (5) of Clause 18 which, as previously drafted, 1347 is in the opinion of the Secretary of State too narrow. It provides only for the settlement of disputes arising out of the disposition of assets and liabilities. The new Clause provides for the settlement of disputes under the foregoing provisions of the Bill, which would mean the provisions in Clauses 17, 18 and 19 and new Clauses 1 and 2. I think that the new Clause speaks for itself and I commend it to the House.
§ Mr. MacArthurI do not think we need debate this matter at length, although I have a certain doubt about the propriety of the Secretary of State intervening as the decision-maker in the event of a dispute of this kind. On balance, it might be better to leave it to arbiters. The Minister of State will know that I am particularly sensitive about arbitration matters at present. We shall be returning to arbitration problems on another Bill later today. However, my doubts do not have much validity as we have allowed the previous provision to go through in Committee.
In view of that, it is reasonable for this Clause to proceed. I have a lingering suspicion about the rôle of the Secretary of State in these matters, but I think that the Clause should be added to the Bill.
§ Question put and agreed to.
§ Clause read a Second time and added to the Bill.