HC Deb 20 June 1968 vol 766 cc1442-3

PROCEDURE ON REFERENCE TO APPROPRIATE COMMITTEE OR COMMISSION

Mr. Speaker

We come now to Amendment No. 23, with which I suggest we take Government Amendments No. 24, No. 108 and No. 109.

Mr. K. Robinson

I beg to move Amendment No. 23, in page 17, line 2, at end insert: 'or (d) propose, on grounds not relating to safety, quality or efficacy, to refuse to grant the licence, or to grant a licence otherwise than in accordance with the application'. When we discussed in Committee an Amendment moved by my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, West (Mr. English) my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary accepted the principle underlying it, although he found that the wording was not entirely acceptable. We promised to put down different Amendments which would meet the same objective. This was to fill a gap in the procedure in cases where there had been representations to a committee or the Commission on questions of safety, efficacy or quality, but where it was proposed on grounds other than those not to grant the application, or not to grant it in full. Such other grounds would be of the kind that in the absence of considerations referable to the committee or Commission would have been dealt with under Clause 22(2).

Amendment No. 23 adds these other grounds as paragraph (d) in subsection (5). Amendment No. 24 adds a provision to subsection 6 requiring the licensing authority, as under Clause 22(2), to state its proposals and—

It being Ten o'clock, further consideration of the Bill, as amended, stood adjourned.

Ordered,

That the Proceedings on the Medicines Bill may be entered upon and proceeded with at this day's Sitting at any hour, though opposed. —[Mr. loan L. Evans.]

Bill, as amended (in the Standing Committee) further considered.

Mr. K. Robinson

The cither two Amendments—No. 108 and No. 109— make similar Amendments to the corresponding provisions in Schedule 2 relating to suspension, revocation or variation of a licence.

Mr. Fortescue

In the absence of the hon. Member for Nottingham, West (Mr. English), I want to say that we on this side of the House welcome these Amendments and are grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for fulfilling his undertaking.

Amendment agreed to.

Further Amendment made: No. 24, in page 17, line 16, at end insert: 'and in a case falling within paragraph (d) of that subsection (whether it also falls within any of the other paragraphs of that subsection or not) the notification shall include a statement of the proposals of the licensing authority and of the reasons for them'.—[Mr. K. Robinson.]

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