ENACTMENTS CONTINUED IN FORCE (Hansard, 14 December 1970)

§ The Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Mark Carlisle)
I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.
This Amendment was moved in another place by the noble Lord, Lord Gardiner, the previous Lord Chancellor, and was accepted by the Government. The purpose of the Amendment is to make permanent that part of the Licensing Act, 1964 which at the moment has to be continued in force each year by 1078 means of the Expiring Laws Continuance Bill.
This Bill has been steadily whittled away over the years as more and more of those matters which have to be renewed annually either took permanent legislative form or ceased to be in existence. At present there are only three Acts which have to be re-enacted each year, namely Section 1 of the Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act, parts of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act, 1962 and Part VII of the Licensing Act, 1964.
As my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has intimated, it is his intention to bring to the House during this present Session comprehensive permanent legislation to replace the existing Immigrants Act and if that new and comprehensive Measure reaches the Statute Book before the end of this year, it will mean that the only Act left to be dealt with by the Expiring Laws Continuance Bill would be Part VII of the Licensing Act, 1964. That was the part of the Licensing Act which set up the licensing planning procedure to ensure co-ordination of the functions of licensing justices and local planning authorities over the redistribution of on-licence premises.
It was forcibly pointed out by the previous Lord Chancellor that it would seem to be somewhat unnecessary to continue the annual renewal of one Act which would require each year an Expiring Laws Continuance Bill for the purpose of continuing it in force. The effect of these Amendments is to convert that piece of legislation into permanent legislation. The word "permanent" may to some extent be a misnomer, since the House knows that on 8th December this year my right hon. Friend announced the setting up of a review of the licensing liquor laws in England and Wales under the Chairmanship of the noble Lord, Lord Erroll. Among the matters which that Committee will look at will obviously be the continuance in force of Part VII of the Licensing Act, 1964.
Therefore, the effect of this Amendment to the Expiring Laws Continuance Bill will be that present procedure so far as licensing planning authorities are concerned will remain permanently in force until any comprehensive licensing legislation is brought forward to the House as a result of the review which my right 1079 hon. Friend has recently announced. I hope that the House will agree to support the Lords in their Amendment.

Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Robert Grant Ferris)
I should remind the House that as the House is willing to waive its privileges, I shall see that an entry is made in the Journal to that effect.

§ Mr. Merlyn Rees (Leeds, South)
The hon. Gentleman has explained the decline in the parts of the Expiring Laws Continuance Bill over the years. Soon there is to be an Immigration Act which will deal with the temporary legislation that affects aliens and also certain parts of the rules concerning Commonwealth citizens. We come only to the Licensing Act, about which the noble Lord, Lord Gardiner, in another place, when discussing this matter, said that the " enemy "—a curious word, but I have no doubt it has a legal meaning attached to it—was the Home Office. The former Lord Chancellor has been more successful in opposition than he seems to have been in Government on this point. His Amendments have been accepted and the licensing laws are to be altered. The argument of the Home Office no longer applies, namely that we await a change in the licensing laws which itself may be more difficult than it might appear to anyone outside this House. However, this is a good idea and we on this side support it.