POWERS RELATING TO RETAINING WALLS NEAR STEETS (Hansard, 10 March 1971)

§ Mr. Michael Heseltine
I beg to move Amendment No. 22, in page 26, line 31, leave out '£20' and insert '£100'.

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker
I suggest that it will be convenient to take at the same time Amendments Nos. 24 and 37.

§ Mr. Heseltine
These three Amendments deal with the fines which it is proposed to introduce for certain offences under this or other statutes.
Amendment No. 22 proposes that a person responsible for erecting a retaining wall in contravention of the provisions of the Clause shall be liable on conviction of an offence under subsection (4), to a maximum fine not of £20 but of £100.
Amendment No. 24 deals with the situation when a person is guilty of an offence in the erection of scaffolding or use of other building equipment of that sort in connection with building operations. It was felt that a maximum penalty of £100 was too small, having regard to the nature of the accidents which could arise, and that the maximum should be not £100 but £500.
For Amendment No. 37 we turn to Clause 34, which deals with a person who knowingly uses a footway or verge as a vehicle crossing in contravention of conditions imposed by the highway authority under Clause 34(1,b). As the Clause is at present drafted, the maximum fine is £20. It was felt that if he should subsequently be convicted of the same offence a slightly higher fine should be provided for, and the Amendment meets that purpose.

§ Mr. Michael Heseltine
I beg to move Amendment No. 23, in page 26, line 33, leave out 'disrepair' and insert: 'condition (whether for want of repair or some other reason)'. We come back again to the powers relating to retaining walls near streets. Under the Clause as it stands, it is an offence to keep a wall in disrepair. It is proposed that it should be an offence to keep a wall in a dangerous condition whether through disrepair or from some other reason. For instance, someone could build a defective wall, which would not in law be the same as keeping a wall in disrepair although it could well give rise to the same problems and dangers. The Amendment provides accordingly.