Clause 41 (Hansard, 20 June 1968)

§ Mr. K. Robinson
I beg to move Amendment No. 53, in page 37, line 10, after 'time' insert: 'after the relevant regulations are made and'.

§ Mr. Speaker
We are taking, at the same time, Amendment No. 55, in page 37, line 11, leave out 'the relevant regulations' and insert 'they'.
Amendment No. 56, in page 37, line 23, at end insert: 'with or without provision postponing the date as from which they are to be deemed to be so incorporated'. and Amendment No. 57, in page 37, line 37, at end insert: (8) Without prejudice to any direction given under subsection (6) of this section, where such an application is made—

(a) the operative standard provisions shall not be deemed to be incorporated in the licence or certificate to which the application relates before the licensing authority have made a decision on that application, and

(b) if an application under section 98 of this Act is made with respect to that decision, those provisions shall not be deemed to have been or to be so incorporated before the application under subsection (6) of this section has been finally disposed of;

and so much of subsection (7) of section 27 of this Act as relates to the time when an application is to be taken to be finally disposed of shall have effect for the purposes of this subsection as it has effect for the purposes of that section.

§ Mr. Robinson
These four Amendments arise out of a discussion in Committee on two Amendments tabled by the hon. Member for Somerset, North (Mr. Dean). On that occasion I accepted that when application is being made under subsection (6) there might be a case for deferring the application of the new regulations to the licence until a final decision has been given under subsection (7).
Clause 41(6) applies where a licence or certificate is subject to standard provisions and amending regulations are made altering the standard provisions. Subsection (4) postpones the operation of the altered provisions for three months and subsection (6) enables the holder of a licence or certificate to apply to the licensing authority before the end of this 1454 three months' period for a direction that the provisions should be excluded from applying to a particular licence or certificate or should apply subject to modifications.
We have considered this matter further and agree that it would be right to amend the Bill in this way. Amendment No. 57, adding a new subsection (8), accordingly provides that where an application is made under subsection (6) for a direction excluding the new standard provisions from incorporation in the licence, or for modifying them, and the application is refused or not fully granted, the altered standard provisions are not to apply until the application has been decided; and if, later, the decision is challenged in the High Court under Clause 98, they are not to apply till the application has been "finally disposed of". Clause 27(7) uses this expression to cover various dates in relation to licences of right in comparable circumstances. This provision is applied for the purposes of the new subsection.
The other three Amendments make further improvements in Clause 41(6).
The first two Amendments have the effect of making it clear that an application under subsection (6) can be made at any time after the relevant regulations are made and before the end of three months from the date when they come into operation; that is, when the regulations are made, the applicant need not wait until they come into operation before making his application.
The third Amendment introduces further flexibility by giving the licensing authority discretion to include in its direction a provision postponing the date from which the amended standard provisions are to apply. Such a postponement would be included where the holder of the licence or certificate in his application demonstrates that a further period is necessary before he can comply with the new conditions.

§ Mr. Dean
I merely rise to thank the right hon. Gentleman for meeting in a more satisfactory way the points made in the Amendments which I moved in Committee.

§ Mr. K. Robinson
I beg to move Amendment No. 58, in page 37, line 37, at end insert: (8) The powers conferred on the licensing authority by the preceding provisions of this Part of this Act to vary the provisions of a licence or certificate shall be exercisable with respect to any provisions which, in accordance 1456 with this section, are incorporated or deemed to be incorporated in a licence or certificate. Like Amendment No. 57, the last of the group we have just been discussing, this Amendment also proposes a new subsection (8) to Clause 41, but it has a quite different purpose.
The Bill enables applications to be made by the licence holders under Clause 30 for variations of a current licence, and under Clause 28 the licensing authority can initiate the procedure for a variation. But I am advised that, as the Bill stands at present, these powers to vary would not extend to the variation of a condition which was a standard provision prescribed by regulations under Clause 41 and deemed by that Clause to be incorporated in the licence.
This Amendment, therefore, makes express provision for such standard provisions to be varied by the licensing authority when exercising powers under Clause 28 or Clause 30 in relation to particular licences.