Clause 42 (Hansard, 13 June 1968)

§ Mr. Hoy
I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.
The effect of the Amendment is to exempt from the scope of the Clause sales, or offers for sale, of plant material of a protected variety which take place in this country but where the material which is the subject of the sale is to be delivered abroad.
The Amendment refers to Great Britain because the 1964 Act applies to 565 Great Britain and is extended to Northern Ireland under Section 39 of that Act. The extension of Clause 42 as a whole is provided in subsection (3) of the Clause.
The Clause as it originally stood did not, of course, prescribe what name should be used once reproductive material had been exported. That would be a matter for the legislation of the importing country. But there was an omission which might unintentionally have impeded the export of reproductive material of protected varieties. In relating to specific transactions the amendment follows the structure of Section 21 (2) of the Plant Varieties and Seeds Act, 1964, which already exempts exports of seeds from the provisions relating to the Index of Names of Plant Varieties.

§ Mr. Godber
This is a matter which is fairly complicated and on which we had a very long discussion in Committee. The naming of roses became a matter of burning concern to all members of the Standing Committee at that time.
As I understand it, this Amendment is intended to go some way towards meeting the anxieties of certain noted rose producers who had sent us a lot of material in relation to this matter. It was made clear in another place that this Amendment, however, was not welcomed with great enthusiasm by Mr. McGredy, who was one of the ringleaders among the rose producers who sought to explain to us their anxieties in the matter.
There are a number of different bodies concerned in this. But our only desire at that stage was to ensure that British rose producers were at no disadvantage compared with their Continental competitors. I do not think that the Parliamentary Secretary made it clear whether this Amendment will help them in ensuring that they will be at least on all fours with their European competitors in regard to the effects of this Clause. Initially, they had felt that the Clause as drafted was so tightly drawn that it would inhibit them in their overseas sales. I am not suggesting that the export of new varieties of roses is going to put right our balance of payments overnight, but however small it may appear in relation to some of our larger financial problems, to those concerned it is a matter of importance, and I hope the 566 Parliamentary Secretary can assure us that this Amendment is one which will help in some respect to allay the anxieties of those particular rose growers whose problems we discussed at great length upstairs.

§ Mr. Hoy
I think it is going to be helpful. If it were not helpful, I would not be moving the Amendment which is the purpose for accepting it in another place. I will not go into the whole question. We debated it upstairs for a considerable length of time. The hon. Gentleman described it as "The War of the Roses". I would not go quite as far as that, but it did cause considerable discussion and in another place we have gone this length to help meet the needs of our own growers.