HC Deb 29 July 1976 vol 916 cc944-9

Amendments made: No. 326, in page 70, line 20, at end insert— '"associated person", in relation to a company or its wholly owned subsidiary means—

  1. (a) a person who controls the company, or
  2. (b) a body corporate controlled by a person who also controls the company.'

No. 179, in page 70, line 29, leave out 'of a company'.

No. 180, in page 70, line 31, at end add: 'or, in the case of a company incorporated in Northern Ireland, section 148(5) of the Companies Act (Northern Ireland) 1960;

No. 181, in page 70, line 32, leave out from second 'company' to end of line 34 and insert: 'has the meaning assigned to it by section 27(6A) above;'.

No. 182, in page 70, line 38, at end insert: '"industrial or intellectual property" includes, without prejudice to its generality, patents, designs, trade marks, know-how and copy-rights;'

No. 183, in page 71, line 5, at end insert: '"know-how" means any industrial information and techniques likely to assist in the manufacture or processing of goods or materials or the repair of goods;'.

No. 184, in page 71, line 5, at end insert: '"lease" includes an agreement for a lease and any tenancy agreement,'.

No. 185, in page 71, line 8, at end insert: mortgage" in relation to Scotland, means a heritable security within the meaning of section 9(8) of the Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970;'.

No. 186, in page 71, line 8, at end insert: '"notice of acquisition" has the meaning assigned to it by section 26(1) above;'.

No. 187, in page 71, line 8, at end insert: '"notice of disclaimer" has the meaning assigned to it by section 31(5A) above;'.

No. 188, in page 71, leave out lines 9 to 12.

No. 189, in page 71, line 12, at end insert: '"operate", in relation to any works, means to be actively engaged, whether alone or with others, in the management of the works, but a person shall not be deemed to operate works by reason only that he exercises an indirect control of their management by means of the holding of shares in the operating company or otherwise;'.

No. 190, in page 71, line 12, at end insert: pension", in relation to any person, means a pension, whether contributory or not, of any kind whatsoever payable to or in respect of him, and includes a gratuity so payable and a return of contributions or insurance premiums to a pension fund with or without interest or any other addition; pension rights" includes all forms of right to or eligibility for, the present or future payment of a pension to or in respect of a person, and any expectation of the accruer of a pension to or in respect of a person under any customary practice, and also includes a right of allocation in respect of the present or future payment of a pension; pension scheme" includes any form of arrangements for the payment of pensions, whether subsisting by virtue of an Act, trust, contract or otherwise, and also includes any customary practice under which pensions are paid;'.

No. 327, in page 71, line 21, at end insert: '"the relevant clays" means 27th December 1973 and every Wednesday, other than 26th December 1973, in the period of six months beginning on 1st September 1973;'.

No. 191, in page 71, line 42, leave out from beginning to end of page 72, line 2.

No. 192, in page 72, line 2, at end insert— '"safeguarding date" means—

  1. (a) in relation to a company on which the Secretary of State serves a notice of acquisition, the date of service of the notice, and
  2. (b) in relation to any other company, 17th March 1975;'.

No. 193, in page 72, line 2, at end insert— '"Schedule 4 notice" has the meaning assigned to it by section 29(1) above;'.

No. 194, in page 72, line 20, at end add— voting power" does not include voting rights which arise only in limited circumstances;'.

No. 195, in page 72, line 23, after '1948', insert: 'and section 144 of the Companies Act (Northern Ireland) 1960'.

No. 196, in page 72, line 38, at end insert— '(1A) For the purposes of this Act, in relation to land in England, Wales or Northern Ireland),—

  1. (a) "own" includes hold or lease;
  2. (b) "rights of ownership" means an estate in fee simple or a lease; and
  3. (c) property owned by a member of a partnership and held by him for the purposes of the partnership shall be deemed to be owned by each of the members of the partnership.
(1B) For the purposes of this Act, in relation to land in Scotland,—
  1. (a) "own" includes hold on lease;
  2. (b) "right of ownership" means—
    1. (i) if the land is feudal property, the estate or interest of the proprietor of dominium mile, or
    2. (ii) if the land is not feudal property, the estate or interest of the owner, or
    3. (iii) a lease; and
  3. (c) property owned by a member of a partnership and held by him for the purposes of the partnership shall be deemed to be owned by the firm'.

No. 328, in page 73, line 30, at end insert— '(5A) For the purposes of this Act a person controls a company or other body coporate if he is entitled to exercise, or to control the exercise, of at least one third of the voting power at any general meeting of that body corporate.'.—[Mr. Kaufman.]

6.15 p.m.

Mr. Max Madden (Sowerby)

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. You will be aware that earlier today reference was made by my hon. Friends on the Government side about the activities of representatives of a public relations firm called International News Services, which has been particularly active in trying to impress a particular point of view over the legislation that we are now discussing.

Immediately before the last Division, on coming into the Chamber I observed a representative of that firm standing in the Members' Lobby in conversation with a Member of Parliament. I believe that the Members' Lobby is reserved for the use of Members of Parliament and accredited Lobby correspondents and that the gentleman concerned, as he is not an accredited Lobby correspondent, has no business to stay in the Members' Lobby in conversation. I therefore ask whether action can be taken to ensure that this person is not allowed to stay in the Members' Lobby, as this obviously reflects on matters which were brought to the attention of the House earlier.

Mr. Deputy Speaker

The hon. Gentleman can be assured that the Chair will look into the matter.

Mr. Arthur Lewis (Newham, North-West)

Further to the point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I believe that my hon. Friend the Member for Sowerby (Mr. Madden) made a mistake, as you will have observed, when he said that accredited Lobby correspondents are allowed in. In fact, no one but a Member is allowed to be in the Members' Lobby. Even accredited Lobby correspondents are not allowed there, much as we admire and respect them. If it is good enough for them to have to withdraw, I certainly think—

Mr. Deputy Speaker

The point has been made.

Mr. Bob Cryer (Keighley)

Further to the point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Do I understand you to say that the activities of this person are to be investigated? This sort of activity could become a very serious intrusion into the very nature of this Parliament.

Mr. Deputy Speaker

I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the matter will be looked into at once.

Mr. Ron Thomas (Bristol, North-West)

Further to the point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. This is a serious matter, and I appeal to you to make a declaration from the Chair that the Members' Lobby is for Members of Parliament only and not for representatives of Bristol Channel Ship Repairers, because in essence that is what they are.

Mr. Deputy Speaker

The present incumbent of the Chair is investigating the matter. It will be a matter for Mr. Speaker's ruling.

Mr. Arthur Lewis

Further to the point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. With great respect it is not, because my hon. Friend is quite right. I ask you to confirm that it is laid down as a rule of the House that during a Division no Strangers may be allowed in the Members' Lobby. I want this to be clear. Even Library staff and officials of the House are told that they cannot stand there and must leave. Indeed it happened to me, because a correspondent was speaking to me and he was moved out of the Members' Lobby—

Mr. Deputy Speaker

The circumstances are being investigated and the matter will be reported to Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Arthur Lewis

Further to the point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I ask you, please, to answer my point of order. Is it or is it not a rule of the House that no one but a Member of Parliament is allowed to be in the Members' Lobby when a Division is in progress? If you do not rule that that is the case, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I want you to tell the police that it is wrong for them to stop—

Mr. Deputy Speaker

Order. Apparently the hon. Gentleman and the Chair are at cross purposes. No one is allowed to be present in the Members' Lobby during a Division. If I misunderstood the hon. Gentleman, I apologise.

Mr. Arthur Lewis

That is all right.

Mr. Deputy Speaker

As long as we have that matter clear. I think I have ruled on the substantive point of order raised by the hon. Member for Sowerby (Mr. Madden).

Mr. Thomas Swain (Derbyshire, North-East)

Further to the point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. It is quite possible that there may be another Division before Mr. Speaker returns to the Chair. As a consequence, you will be solely in charge of the affairs of the House. What I am asking, Mr. Deputy Speaker, in support of my hon. Friends on this side of the House, is that in the interim period, until Mr. Speaker returns to the Chair, you will guarantee, with the authority that you have at your disposal, that no member of any public relations firm or any stranger will be allowed to remain for one second in the Lobby when the Division bells begin to ring.

Mr. Deputy Speaker

I can give that assurance. It may be that at the exact moment when the Division bells begin to ring people will be going into the Gallery. If so, they will be moved immediately by those on duty in the Members' Lobby. That disposes of the point.

Forward to