EXCEPTIONS FROM PROHIBITION IN SECTION 1 (Hansard, 14 February 1979)

§ Mr. Denzil Davies
I beg to move amendment no. 29, in page 54, line 25 at end insert— 11A. A body of persons certified as a school bank by a trustee savings bank, the National Savings Bank or a recognised bank. The amendment would exclude school banks from the Bill provided they were certified as such by a trustee savings bank, the National Savings Bank or a recognised bank. We dealt with this point in Committee. Provided that a 1255 school bank is under the aegis of one of the banks specified, there is no reason to bring it within the Bill.

§ Mr. Ian Stewart
I wish to thank the Minister for moving the amendment, which is perhaps better than those that we sought to make in Committee. It achieves the same effect. I am glad that this improvement can be incorporated in the Bill.

§ Mr. Denzil Davies
I beg to move amendment no. 30, in page 54, line 27, leave out from beginning to "which" in line 31 and insert "Any other body".

§ Mr. Speaker
With this we are to take Government amendment no. 31, and amendment No. 32, in page 54, line 34 at end insert— 14A. The Letchworth Garden City Corporation.

§ Mr. Denzil Davies
The two Government amendments arise as a result of what the hon. Member for Hitchin (Mr. Stewart) said in Committee about the Letchworth garden city corporation. He pointed out that we had forgotten about the corporation, which has an unusual constitution and does not fit into schedule 1.
The draftsman has redrafted the schedule so as to include other bodies which might be similar, although I understand that Letchworth garden city corporation is unique. Nevertheless, there may be other similar such bodies in the future, and while the amendment does not spell out the name in the Bill, the redraft meets the point raised by the hon. Member.
Amendment No. 32, in the name of the hon. Member for Hitchin, seeks to spell out the name in the Bill, but since there might be other such bodies in future it is preferable to handle the matter as we propose.

§ Mr. Ian Stewart
I rise not as the Opposition spokesman on the Bill but as the hon. Member for Letchworth, and I do so to thank the Minister for having tabled amendment No. 30. It widens the definition in schedule 1 to cover the Letchworth garden city corporation most admirably. I hope that by choosing these words the Minister will have established 1256 a precedent which will find its way into other legislation. In the Committee stages of other Bills, should I find myself participating, I shall in future not always have to table a separate amendment to protect the interests of the corporation.
Four out of six of the members of the corporation are appointed by the Secretary of State, while only one is appointed by the district council and one by the county council. Therefore, the provision that the majority of the members have to be appointed or elected by one or more local authority does not apply in this case.
The use of the words "any other body" which is enabled to issue a precept to a local authority, or to which a local authority can be required to contribute, covers not only the Letchworth garden city corporation but any other such anomalies of this kind in the future. Therefore, I hope that a similar wording will find its way into other Bills of this nature and save me much work in Committee in future years.