HC Deb 24 October 1967 vol 751 cc1624-6

Lords Amendment No. 48: In page 64, line 45, at end insert— (2) In section 1(1) of the Places of Worship (Enfranchisement) Act 1920 after paragraph (a) of the proviso there shall be inserted as a new paragraph (aa) the following paragraph:— '(aa) where the person entitled to the freehold or an intermediate reversion requires that underlying minerals be excepted, the trustees shall not be entitled to acquire his interest in the minerals if proper provision is made for the support of the premises as they have been enjoyed during the lease and in accordance with the terms of the lease and of the trust; and'".

Mr. Skeffington

I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.

Mr. Speaker

I understand that with this Amendment we are taking Amendments Nos. 49 to 52 and 63 to 66.

Mr. Skeffington

That is so, Mr. Speaker.

The purpose of this series of Amendments is to provide for Clause 2(6) of the Bill in relation to minerals to be substituted, in relation to the Places of Worship (Enfranchisement) Act 1920, in place of the Railways Clauses Consolidation Act 1845.

When we were in Committee a good deal of amusement was occasioned when I was asked among other things to explain when a place of worship was a railway station. In the 1920 Act the only way thought appropriate of dealing with minerals underneath at that time was to apply the same sort of provisions as were to be found in railway legislation whereby the railways had the rights to the land on the top but not to the minerals underneath. Those were the provisions then incorporated, but we thought it more convenient to use Clause 2 as amended earlier this evening. It makes it absolutely clear that minerals are not included unless specifically within the terms of the lease. The four Amendments to the Schedules are a complete reflection, as it were, of the Amendments to Clause 41.

Mr. Graham Page

We have not had much entertainment, hilarity or joy out of the Bill through all its stages. We have plodded on. It has been an extremely difficult and dull Bill to deal with from that point of view and I am very sad that the one Clause out of which we got a bit of fun is to be removed from the Bill. It was a gem of legislation saying: For purposes of sections 77 to 85 of the … Act 1845 the use of the premises as a place of worship or minister's house, whether in conjunction with other purposes or not, shall be deemed to be the railway and the trustees shall be deemed to be the railway company. That was a choice piece of legislation and brought a gleam of light and joy to this wholly miserable Bill. Now we are to be deprived even of that. This little bit of humour is to be removed from the Bill.

Question put and agreed to.

Subsequent Lords Amendments agreed to.