HC Deb 25 January 1967 vol 739 cc1673-4
Mr. Skeffington

I beg to move as an Amendment to the words so restored to the Bill, in page 52, line 26, at end insert:

  1. (c) the proceedings on a case so stated and signed are abandoned or otherwise disposed of without a decision being given on it;
  2. (d) an appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal or the Court of Session on such a case is abandoned or otherwise ceases to have effect or the time for bringing any such appeal expires without its having been brought.
My right hon. Friend has taken advantage of this stage to give slightly greater precision to this Clause in relation to when a notice of assessment becomes operative in certain cases. The Amendment will certainly make for greater precision. It may not have been absolutely essential, but we have taken advantage of this stage to make this absolutely clear.

There is the case where there has been an appeal by the service of a proper counter-notice either from the Lands Tribunal to the Court of Appeal or from the Court of Appeal to the House of Lords, and then it has been abandoned, and it might be held not to be absolutely certain when the notice of assessment becomes operative.

Mr. Body

May I say on behalf of my hon. Friends that we on this side do not oppose this Amendment, but it does look as if this was needed because there was some rather slipshod drafting. Quite clearly there was a loophole here which, quite properly, the Government now wish to fill. One wonders whether there may not subsequently emerge more faults of this type.

12.45 a.m.

This highlights the fact that this was a badly-drafted Bill which should never have had an omission such as this. This is an example of what can happen when we have before the House a Bill as incomprehensible and indigestible as this. Had the Bill been written in plain English we would have spotted this matter long ago and the Amendment would not have been necessary at this stage.

Amendment to the words so restored to the Bill agreed to.