HC Deb 18 October 1968 vol 770 cc759-60

Lords Amendment No. 42: In Page 42, line 20, after "order" insert: (except any order under section 54 of this Act) ".

Mr. Elystan Morgan

I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.

Clause 51(5) provides for all regulations and orders under the Act to be made subject to the negative Resolution procedure. As it stands, the provision applies to commencement orders made under Clause 54 to bring the Act into operation by stages. I am sure that the House agrees that that procedure is quite inappropriate to such orders, and the Amendment provides that it shall not apply to them.

Mr. Carlisle

I am not very happy about the Amendment. We are bringing into operation a very important Act, which the Under-Secretary will agree will require, among other things, a great deal of very careful initial preparation by the Board before various parts of the Act are brought into force. The House may well wish to probe the Home Secretary to know about the preparations which have been made and about the reports which he has received from the Board, for example, before he chooses to bring various parts of the Act into operation.

I do not think it unreasonable to suggest that an order bringing these parts of the Act into force should be subject to the negative Resolution procedure. It would not be a great hardship on the Government. It would not necessarily be used on every occasion, but it would give hon. Members the right to raise on the Floor of the House points about which they wish to be satisfied on the arrangements which have been made.

If I may reiterate what some of my hon. Friends said on the first Lords Amendment, our concern is heightened by our considerable concern at the person who has been appointed Chairman of the Board. It seems even more likely that one might wish to raise questions on the bringing into force of parts of the Bill.

Question put and agreed to.

Subsequent Lords Amendment agreed to.

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