HC Deb 09 May 1973 vol 856 cc571-2

Amendment made: No. 49, in page 57, line 28, leave out from 'any' to end of line 30 and insert: 'such manner as may be specified by an order of the Treasury for the time being in force under Section 22(1) of the National Savings Bank Act 1971'.—[Mr. Dean.]

Mr. Dean

I beg to move Amendment No. 50, in page 57, line 34, leave out 'Where' and insert: 'There shall be made out of the National Insurance Fund into the Consolidated Fund, or out of money provided by Parliament into the National Insurance Fund, such payments by way of adjustment as the Secretary of State determines in accordance with any directions of the Treasury to be appropriate in consequence of the operation of any enactment or regulations relating to the repayment of offsetting of benefit or other payments; and where in other circumstances'. This amendment repairs an omission in the Bill as it stands. It inserts in Clause 43(6) a provision about financial adjustments between the National Insurance Fund and the Consolidated Fund on account of repayments and offsets of benefits wrongly paid. The current provision is in Section 7(4) of the National Insurance Act 1970, which the Bill repeals. The amendment follows the form of Section 7 (4).

Amendment agreed to.

Mr. Dean

I beg to move Amendment No. 51, in page 58, line 4, leave out subsection (7).

This amendment removes from the Bill the provision in Clause 43(7) which says that any sum due to the National Insurance Fund is to be recoverable by the Secretary of State as a debt due to the Crown. This provision was repeated from the present legislation, but it is not necessary because contributions under the Bill, and repayments of benefit which has been overpaid, will no longer be due to the National Insurance Fund but will instead be due to the Secretary of State. Debts due to the Secretary of State are debts due to the Crown and may be recovered by civil proceedings, where necessary, without any special provision. Clause 43(7) is therefore redundant.

Amendment agreed to.

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