§ Lords Amendment: No. 3, in page 7, line 42, after "year" insert "by order"
§ Mr. YoungerI beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.
§ Mr. YoungerThe effect of the two Amendments is to ensure that the Scottish average level of rent income and expenditure for the purposes of assessing entitlement to high cost subsidy will be published not by means of departmental circular—as was indicated in Committee—but by order, subject to the negative Resolution procedure in either House of Parliament.
In another place Lord Hughes moved Amendment No, 3, and it was accepted by the Government, who thereafter tabled Amendment No. 4 to ensure that the order determining the Scottish rent income and the Scottish average expenditure would be subject to parliamentary procedure. It was clear during the debate in the other place that the noble Lord expected that the effect of his Amendment would be to make the order subject to parliamentary procedure, and as Amendment No. 3 alone would not have achieved that the Government added the further Amendment to make certain that the noble Lord's wishes were met.
§ Mr. William Ross (Kilmarnock)The Amendment is eminently desirable. This is something that we wished upon the Government which they did not accept at the time. These are important sums for the determination of average levels of rent income and expenditure, because these matters will deter- 1841 mine the high cost subsidy and the rent fund contribution. We are therefore pleased that the Government have decided to accept the Amendment.
Does this mean that the order varying any sums referred to in subsection (2) will be covered by a similar procedure?
§ Mr. YoungerI shall have to look into that and let the right hon. Gentleman know.
§ Question put and agreed to. [Special entry.]
§ Subsequent Lords Amendment agreed to.