§
Amendment made: No. 41, in page 97, line 4, column 3, at end insert:
Section 147(1) from 'and where' onwards.
Section 147(2).—[Mr. MacDermot.]
§ Mr. MacDermotI beg to move Amendment No. 44, in page 97, line 32, at the end to insert:
This Amendment repeals certain spent parts of the Bus Fuel Grants Act, 1966. It is proposed solely in order to keep the statutes up to date.
1966, c.46. The Bus Fuel Grants Act 1966. Section 1(1)(a)(i). In section 1(1)(a)(ii), the word 'later' and the words from 'including' on-wards.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Mr. MacDermotI beg to move Amendment No. 155, in page 102, line 30, column 3, at the end to insert:
In Schedule 12, in paragraph 1(3) the words 'or is not paid in pursuance of such an agreement'.This Amendment also repeals certain words which are now superfluous.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Schedule, as amended, agreed to.
§ Mr. Iain Macleod (Enfield, East)On a point of order. Before you report the Bill to the House, Mr. Irving, and for the convenience of hon. Members in the House and outside, and also partly for the Chair—no doubt Mr. Speaker will note what we say for the next stage—may I say that we are in some difficulty in that it is known that the Government intend to take the Report stage of the Bill on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. I have no objection; indeed, from various points of view it is convenient. Nevertheless, it raises certain difficulties about printing.
We cannot put down Amendments until we have the reprinted Bill. For instance, we cannot put down Amend- 1820 ments to the Chancellor's new R.E.P. Clause until we see where it is in the Bill. Similarly, if people outside wish my hon. Friends or hon. Members opposite to make representations to the Government, they cannot indicate where in the Bill the appropriate Amendments should be made.
It may therefore be that some Amendments cannot be put down until Monday, and will therefore be starred when we proceed with the Bill on Report, but it might be possible—I realise that this is not a point of order, but it is for the convenience of the House—for the Chancellor to tell us when the reprinted Bill will be before the House.
§ The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. James Callaghan)With your permission, Mr. Irving, may I say that I am grateful to the right hon. Member for Enfield, West (Mr. Iain Macleod), who gave me private notice that he proposed to raise this point.
This frequently happens when there is only a short interval between Committee and Report stages. The Government, naturally, must do their best to meet the convenience of the House at the time. I have no knowledge what business we shall take next week until the Lord President of the Council announces it in the House tomorrow, but I can tell the right hon. Gentleman that we hope to have the Finance Bill reprinted by midday tomorrow, and it should be available to hon. Members in the House in the early afternoon of tomorrow.
I trust that that will give sufficient time for Amendments to be put down before any possible debate that takes place next week.
§ The Deputy Chairman (Mr. Sydney Irving)I am sure that meets the point.
§ Bill reported, with amendments, as amended to be considered Tomorrow and to be printed. [Bill 287.]