HC Deb 22 October 1973 vol 861 cc907-8

Lords Amendment: No. 60, in page 125, line 45, at end insert new Clause B: B.—(1) On 16th May 1975 each person holding office as a representative commissioner under the Tweed Fisheries Act 1969 shall go out of office. (2) The function of appointing representative commissioners under the said Act of 1969 shall be transferred to the district councils of Berwickshire, Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale and Tweeddale and the Berwick on Tweed District Council. (3) The said Act of 1969 shall have effect subject to the amendments set out in Schedule A to this Act.

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

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

Mr. Deputy Speaker

With this amendment it will be convenient to take Lords Amendments No. 121 and 189.

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

Under Section 5(1) of the Tweed Fisheries Act 1969 certain local authorities in the River Tweed catchment area were authorised on or before 1st February 1970 to appoint specified numbers of people to act as representative commissioners for the purpose of the Act. The new clause and schedule and consequential amendments therefore transfer the function of appointing representative commissioners under the 1969 Act to the new district councils. The existing commissioners will be removed and new ones appointed by the new district councils will act on and after 16th May 1975 as the commissioners for the purposes of the 1969 Act.

Mr. Robert Hughes

Was this the fish that nearly got away and was missed in all the deliberations that took place? I assume that this is part of the general tidying up which is being done and there is nothing more significant than that.

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

Often it is only the tiddlers that get away. On this occasion it might have been rather more than tiddlers.

Mr. Carmichael

Whales.

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

I do not think that whales have yet been caught in the Tweed. Not even my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has caught any whales in the Tweed. However, there are other fish in that river. This might have been the salmon that got away, but we managed to get it in time. Not being an angler, perhaps I should not claim any credit for that.

Question put and agreed to.

Subsequent Lords amendment agreed to.

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