HC Deb 10 May 1968 vol 764 cc793-4
Mr. Pavitt

I beg to move Amendment No. 39, page 10, line 5, leave out 'hearing aids industry' and insert 'dispensers and suppliers of hearing aids and drawn from persons eligible under section 2 of this Act'. This is a drafting Amendment. We have reached a situation where we need to make some slight changes in the Schedule to the Act, and this is perhaps the most important part. The Schedule provides a new deal for deaf people. It may cover as many as 1 million of our fellow citizens who suffer from this disability.

It is essential to have a completely independent council, not a trade association, but one which would have the interests of the people at heart. I again pay tribute to the way in which the industry has co-operated. The Schedule gives powers to an independent council for which the industry provides the money—the Government provide no money. The Amendment provides that we shall have the benefit of the advice and skill of persons with a key knowledge of the industry, who are not representing and are not nominated by the industry, and who will, therefore, be best able to serve people who have a hearing disability in addition to consumers and those who have the welfare of the deaf at heart.

Amendment agreed to.

Further Amendment made: No. 40, in page 10, line 10, leave out paragraph 2 and insert— 2.—(1) A member of the Council shall hold office for such period, not exceeding four years, as the Board of Trade may specify at the time of his appointment. (2) In determining the periods of office of members of the Council the Board of Trade shall seek to secure—

  1. (a) that one third of the members of the Council cease to hold office by the effluxtion of time in every year after the year 1970; and
  2. (b) that so far as is consistent with the consideration mentioned in head (a) above, all the members of the Council are appointed to hold office for similar periods.
(3) Nothing in subparagraphs (1) or (2) of this paragraph shall preclude—
  1. (a) a member from resigning his office at any time by giving written notice to the registrar of the Council; or
  2. (b) the Board of Trade from appointing any person as a member of the Council for a second or subsequent term.—[Mr. Pavitt.]

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