HC Deb 22 October 1973 vol 861 cc912-3

Lords Amendment: No. 64, in page 138, line 41, leave out "any telephone undertaking".

Mr. Younger

I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.

The amendment removes a reference in the local Acts clause to "telephone undertaking" among the various categories of statutory undertaking. There are no local telephone undertakings in Scotland.

Mr. Hugh D. Brown

Surely there are no local undertakings which supply electricity, gas or hydraulic power. I do not understand why an exception is being made to some other public authority. I do not know the significance of the amendment.

The Minister said that the Post Office is different. It may be that the wording is wrong, but the amendment refers to "any telephone undertaking". I do not see the difference between that and gas and electricity undertakings, and the Minister should tell us more about this than he has done so far.

Mr. Younger

If I have the leave of the House to reply, I can tell the hon. Gentleman that I am advised that a telephone undertaking refers to a private or local telephone undertaking, and as there are none of those in Scotland it is not thought necessary to have this provision in the Bill.

Question put and agreed to.

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