HC Deb 20 July 1972 vol 841 cc1053-5

SERVICE OF NOTICES BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES

Mr. Graham Page

I beg to move Amendment No. 1138, in page 159, line

23, leave out from beginning to end of line 21 on page 160 and insert:

  1. '(1) Subject to subsection (6) below, subsections (2) to (5) below shall have effect in relation to any notice, order or other document required or authorised by or under any enactment to be given to or served on any person by or on behalf of a local authority or by an officer of a local authority.
  2. (2) Any such document may be given to or served on the person in question either by delivering it to him, or by leaving it at his proper address, or by sending it by post to him at that address.
  3. (3) Any such document may—
    1. (a) in the cost of a body corporate, be given to or served on the secretary or clerk of that body;
    2. (b) in the case of a partnership, be given to or served on a partner or a person having the control or management of the partnership business.
  4. (4) For the purposes of this section and of section 26 of the Interpretation Act 1889 (service of documents by post) in its application to this section, the proper address of any person to or on whom a document is to be given or served shall be his last known address, except that—
    1. (a) in the case of a body corporate or their secretary or clerk, it shall be the address of the registered or principal office of that body;
    2. (b) in the case of a partnership or a person having the control or management of the partnership business it shall be that of the principal office of the partnership;
    and for the purposes of this subsection the principal office of a company registered outside the United Kingdom or of a partnership carrying on business outside the United Kingdom shall be their principal office within the United Kingdom.
  5. (5) If the person to be given or served with any document mentioned in subsection (1) above has specified an address within the United Kingdom other than his proper address within the meaning of subsection (4) above as the one at which he or someone on his behalf will accept documents of the same description as that document, that address shall also be treated for the purposes of this section and section 26 of the Interpretation Act 1889 as his proper address'.

Mr. Deputy Speaker

We can also discuss Amendments Nos. 1139, 1140. 1141 and 1142.

Mr. Graham Page

Whereas the previous Amendment set out a code for service of notices on local authorities, Clause 226, with the Amendments, sets out a code for service of notices by local authorities. The Amendments rewrite the Clause to make it clearer and, in particular, they provide that a document may be served at any address furnished for that purpose by the person to whom the document is sent. They limit the provision for service and set out a number of other reasonable procedures for the service of notices.

Amendment agreed to.

Further Amendments made: No. 1139, page 160, line 22, leave out 'served on the owner' and insert: 'given to or served on the owner or lessee'.

No. 1140, page 160, line 25, leave out 'thereof' and insert 'or lessee'.

No. 1141, page 160, line 27, after 'owner', insert 'or lessee'.

No. 1142, page 160, leave out lines 31 to 45 and insert:

  1. '(5) If the name or address of any owner, lessee or occupier of land to or on whom any document mentioned in subsection (1) above is to be given or served cannot after reasonable inquiry be ascertained, it may be given or served either by leaving it in the hands of a person who is or appears to be resident or employed on the land or by leaving it conspicuously affixed to some building or object on the land.
  2. (6) The foregoing provisions of this section do not apply to a document which is to be given or served in any proceedings in court.
  3. (7) Except as aforesaid and subject to any provision of any enactment or instrument excluding the foregoing provisions of this section, the methods of giving or serving documents which are available under those provisions are in addition to the methods which are available under any other enactment or any instrument made under any enactment'.—[Mr. Graham Page.]

Forward to