HC Deb 25 March 1980 vol 981 cc1331-2
Mr. Kenneth Clarke

I beg to move amendment No. 50, in page 31 leave out lines 39 and 40 and insert— '"excursion or tour" means a stage or express carriage service on which the passengers travel together on a journey, with or without breaks, from one or more places to one or more other places and back;'.

Mr. Deputy Speaker

With this we may take Government amendment No. 73.

Mr. Clarke

These amendments substitute a new definition of "excursion" or "tour" in the Bill to replace that which is in the 1968 Act. The new definition is reasonably clear and succinct. It replaces 21 lines of unintelligible gobbledegook in the old Act and I hope that the House will therefore accept it as an improvement.

Mr. Booth

I congratulate the Government on this amendment. In Committee we found that the most appalling difficulties arose from the original definition, which has been carried forward in British law for a considerable time. I think it is worthy of note that the Government have applied their mind to it and come forward with a definition that makes considerable sense, and that I hope will be interpreted by the British courts in the way in which it is obviously intended to be interpreted.

Amendment agreed to.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

I beg to move amendment No. 52, in page 32, line 25 leave out 'of another member State or'.

Mr. Deputy Speaker

With this it will be convenient to take Government amendment No. 53.

Mr. Clarke

In the Standing Committee the hon. Member for Birmingham, Stechford (Mr. Davis) asked me why the relevant convictions in terms of an application for an operator's licence had to be in the EEC area and why, for instance, countries such as Switzerland, outside the EEC, were not equally relevant places. He and the other members of the Committee will well remember that I could not think of the slightest intelligent reply. We have therefore produced these two amendments, which meet the point and extend relevant convictions to relevant convictions in any country.

Amendment agreed to.

Amendments made:

No. 53, in page 32, line 26, after 'Ireland', insert ',or of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom,'.

No. 55, in page 33, line 3, leave out from 'vehicle' to 'is' in line 4. [Mr. Fowler.]

Forward to