§ Lords Amendment: No. 404, in page 171, line 40, leave out "records and".
§ Mr. Graham PageI beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.
§ Mr. Deputy SpeakerWith this Amendment it will be convenient to discuss the following Lords Amendments: Nos. 405 to 416.
§ Mr. PageAmendment No. 404 and the group from No. 405 to 416 deal with documents, records, certificates of notice and so on with which local authorities are concerned.
Amendment No. 404 is drafting.
Amendment No. 405 deals with Clause 218 and inserts two new subsections. As originally worded, the Clause did not adequately cover the position of the records of ecclesiastical parishes, and the Amendment is intended to remedy that fault.
1273 Amendment No. 406 improves the definition of specified papers" and is merely drafting.
Amendment No. 407 is drafting.
Amendments Nos. 408 and 410 alter the word "abstract" to "extract". I am not sure whether it was a spelling mistake or a typing error.
Amendment No. 409 again is a drafting Amendment.
Amendment No. 411 enables local authority documents to be simply proved in legal proceedings by means of properly authenticated photographic copies. I am sure that this will be of great value to local authorities since it will assist them to microfilm their documents free from the risk that proof by copy will be elaborate and expensive. Subsection (3A) provides that for the purpose of evidence in legal proceedings photographic copies of local authority documents, whether the originals are in existence or have been destroyed, are treated as if they were originals. Subsection (3B) provides for the authentication of photographic copies under the Clause. The certificate of the local authority's proper officer is the evidence that the document is a photographic copy of the original. Finally subsection (3C) provides a safeguard against the admission of bogus or doubtful copies by enabling the court to require production of the original if it exists.
Amendments Nos. 413, 414, 415 and 416 are drafting Amendments.
§ Question put and agreed to.
§ Subsequent Lords Amendments agreed to.