HC Deb 10 May 1968 vol 764 cc817-9

Amendments made: No. 30, in page 14, line 12, after '4', insert: 'and section (Exemptions from requirement to fit arrestment plant)'.

No. 48, in page 14, line 16, leave out 'section 2' and insert 'sections 2, 3 and section (Exemptions from requirement to fit arrestment plant)'.

No. 31, in page 14, line 24, leave out paragraph 6.—[Mr. Maxwell.]

Mr. Maxwell

I beg to move Amendment No. 33, in page 15, line 9, leave out "dust"', and insert '"emitted"'.

Mr. Allason

I have amended my copy of the 1956 Act in accordance with the Amendment and the result reads as follows: 'chimney' includes structures and openings of any kind from or through which smoke, smoke, grit, dust or fumes may be emitted and, in particular, includes flues emitted.… This is a complete nonsense. The Amendment is wrongly drafted, and I suggest that it would be better if the correct Amendment were made in another place.

Mr. Maxwell

The purpose of the Amendment is to correct a drafting error in paragraph 10 of the Schedule. The paragraph is intended to amend the definition of "chimney" in Section 34(1) of the Clean Air Act, 1956 in two aspects—first by adding "fumes" to "smoke, grit or dust", so that a structure or opening through which fumes may be emitted comes within the definition, and, second, by defining "chimney" as including "flues". By inadvertence, the words to be removed from Section 34(1) were wrongly described, with the result that in the Section as amended the words "may be emitted" would appear twice. The Amendment seeks to remove these words from Section 34(1).

Mr. Costain

Would the hon. Gentleman read out the Section now as he thinks it will read with his Amendment?

Mr. Maxwell

It would take me some time to redraft, and I shall give very careful consideration to the suggestion of the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mr. Allason) that this might be amended in another place. Since there is other legislation to be dealt with, I hope that the hon. Gentleman and his hon. Friends will permit the Amendment to stand.

Mr. MacColl

We have checked it, and we think that this is right. We may be wrong, because we missed this originally. The C.B.I. pointed it out to us very courteously. We think that it is now right, but if it is not we shall alter it.

Mr. Allason

My point has been taken that if we leave out from "smoke" to "emitted", "smoke" remains in and "emitted" remains in. The intention is to exclude both but the result is that we get "smoke, smoke" "emitted, emitted" both occurring.

Amendment agreed to.

Further Amendment made: No. 34, in page 15, line 18, after '5' insert 'and section (Exemption from requirement to fit arrestment plan)'.

Schedule, as amended, agreed to.

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