Clause 142 (Hansard, 17 July 1972)

§ Mr. Speed
I beg to move Amendment No. 642, in page 91, line 6, after 'formed', insert: '(whether inside or outside the United Kingdom)'.

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker (Miss Harvie Anderson)
It will be convenient to discuss also Amendments No. 643, 651, 653 and 654.

§ Mr. Speed
In Committee my right hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Development gave a promise, which was welcomed by both sides of the Committee, to ensure that Clause 142 enabled local authorities to pay subscriptions to overseas associations concerned with local government affairs as well as to British associations. Amendment No. 642 will enable local authorities to pay subscriptions and to make other contributions directly to bodies such as the International Union of Local Authorities and the Council of European Municipalities.
We consider that local authorities should be given every opportunity to play their full rôle in European integration. There is need for a much greater interchange of ideas and experience between European local authorities over the services they provide and the problems they face. Amendment No. 642 will enable this to be done.

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker
Order. Is the hon. Gentleman including with Amendment Nos. 642 Amendments Nos. 643 and 644?

§ Mr. Speed
No, they are not directly related. They relate to the extension of 299 local authority expenditure on entertainment—

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker
I draw the House's attention to the group of Amendments I initially called: Amendments Nos. 642, 643, 651, 653 and 654. I think the hon. Gentleman will know that Amendment No. 644 stands on its own. I propose to call it after this group of Amendments.

§ Mr. Speed
Amendment No. 643 clarifies the position where a local authority wishes to exercise its powers under Clause 144, which deals with the provision of entertainments outside its area. The Clause as a whole is based on Section 132 of the Local Government Act, 1948,and replaces it. The Clause, however, contains a number of significant differences from the Section, in the interests of making the powers of local authorities more general and less subject to restrictions.
One of these differences is the omission of the proviso to Section 132(1), whereby the powers to provide entertainments may not be exercised by a local authority outside its own area unless the proposed place is convenient for the residents of the authority providing the entertainment, and the consent is obtained of the authority for the area in which the entertainment is to be provided.
The intention behind this omission is that local authorities should have discretion to exercise the powers in Clause 144 outside their areas. Common sense will prevent a council from itself providing an entertainment in a location which is not convenient for at least some of its residents and electors. But there may be events taking place which the council will wish to support—perhaps a theatre in a regional centre, a regional orchestra or something of that kind. Therefore, a local authority would no longer need to obtain the permission of another, as under the 1948 Act, if it wished, for example, to hire a hall for the provision of entertainment, though any permission which may be required, for example, under planning or licensing laws will continue to be necessary.
Amendment No. 644 removes redundant words from Clause 144(4). Subsection (4) reproduces Section 132(6) of 300 the Local Government Act, 1948, which safeguards the provisions of enactments requiring licences. The requirement to obtain a licence for the sale of tobacco was abolished by Section 7 of the Finance Act, 1963, and this Amendment tidies up that matter.

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker (Miss Harvie Anderson)
Order. We are about to go astray. We must stick to the grouping which has been called. It does not include Amendment No. 645. The next Amendment that has been grouped is No. 651. Has the hon. Gentleman finished his explanation of this group?

§ Mr. Speed
Yes, Mr. Deputy Speaker.