HC Deb 14 July 1978 vol 953 cc1967-8

Lords amendment: No. 17, in page 10, line 35, at end insert: subject to sub-paragraph (2) below".

Mr. Robert Hughes

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

Mr. Deputy Speaker

With this amendment we may also take Lords amendments nos. 19, 20, 24 and 25.

Mr. Hughes

These amendments permit the applicant for a rebate on the rates chargeable on his garage, carport or parking space to elect that the rebate shall be based on the actual rateable value of the garage, and so on, where that will be more advantageous than a rebate based on the values specified in paragraph 7 of Schedule 1.

These amendments arise from the undertaking which was given in this House that disabled people with garages the rateable value of which exceeds £25 should receive no less relief under the Bill than they receive at present. Clause 1(2)(f) of the Bill, together with paragraph 7 of schedule 1, will, at present, give relief in England and Wales based on £25 rateable value for a garage, £15 for a carport and £5 for a parking space. The amendments to clause 1(2), which take the opportunity of removing the unnecessary distinction between cases where a disabled person lives in the hereditament and cases where he does not, pave the way to the amendment to paragraph 7 of schedule 1. For consistency, an amendment parallel to that made to clause 1(2) is made also to the Scottish clause 4(2).

The Under-Secretary of State for the Environment (Mr. Guy Barnett)

Since this is the last group of amendments that we have to consider, I take this opportunity of congratulating my hon. Friend on the work that he has done on the Bill and of saying how much the Government welcome it. Many of us know how long such legislation has been awaited since the famous Vandyk case.

Mr. Geoffrey Finsberg (Hampstead)

I am sure that we all welcome the Bill and I hope that the amendments indicate clearly to the House the imperative nature of having a second Chamber. Without that Chamber, the Bill would have gone through unamended and some important points would have been lost. I hope that the point will not be lost on the Government.

Mr. Robert Hughes

I take this opportunity of thanking the sponsors of the Bill. I also express the gratitude of the House to Lord Hughes, who took the Bill through another place and made such important amendments to it. I also express my appreciation to the Under-Secretary and his Department for the great amount of technical advice that they have given, and to Conservative Members who raised a number of points during earlier stages of the Bill.

Question put and agreed to.

Lords amendments nos. 18 to 26 agreed to.