Clause 17 (Hansard, 3 February 1982)

§ Mr. Raison
I beg to move amendment No. 39, in page 17, line 31 leave out 'container or stall'.
This is a purely technical amendment.

§ Dr. Summerskill
Will the Minister explain what he means? According to the amendment, he is taking out the words "container or stall". However, subsection (11) defines "stall" in the following way— any stand, mobile canteen, vehicle (whether movable or not) or barrow". How can the amendment be technical?

§ Mr. Raison
The answer is that subsection (4) already enables the local authority to require particulars as to any stall or container to be used for the selling of food by the applicant. Therefore, the words are otiose.

§ Mr. Raison
I beg to move amendment No. 40, in page 17, line 43 leave out subsection (9).
473 Subsection (9) requires the local authority to keep a list of the persons and premises registered with it under clause 17. The purpose of registration is to indentify to the local authority those persons and premises subject to clause 17. Of necessity local authorities will keep records and therefore it is considered unnecessary specifically to provide in the clause for what would be normal administrative practice.

§ Mr. Raison
I beg to move amendment No. 41, in page 18, line 6 leave out from 'held' to 'or' in line 8 and insert 'under a grant or presumed grant or an enactment or order'.

Mr. Deputy Speaker
With this it is convenient to take Government amendments Nos. 65 and 82.

§ Mr. Raison
These amendments will exempt from the provisions of clauses 17 and 27 and paragraph 2(b) of schedule 3 markets held by virtue of grant or presumed grant from the Crown or under statutory authority.
All three provisions are intended to exempt markets held under legal authority. Those held merely by virtue of custom, where groups of traders are in the habit of gathering together occasionally, do not fall within that category. It is therefore proposed to delete the references to "custom". At the same time the references to"prescription"—meaning a right which, through immemorial usage is presumed to derive from an ancient grant from the Crown—would be deleted in favour of the preferable term "presumed grant". Finally, the exemptions will include a market governed by an enactment or an order made under an enactment.

§ Mr. Whitlock
I beg to move amendment No. 42, in page 18, line 36, at end insert— '(h) to the sale or offer or exposure for sale at a pleasure fair within the meaning of section 75(2)(a) of the Public Health Act 1961.'. Pleasure fairs provide entertainment that is enjoyed by many people. They are part of the British scene and their history goes back for centuries. Ancient charters established their place in our culture long ago. Perhaps that is why there is a large all-party group of hon. Members who keep in touch with the affairs of travelling showmen through the Showmen's Guild. The amendment has the support of several hon. Members from both sides of the House.
Clause 17 requires the registration of any person intending to sell for private gain ߪor offer or expose for sale any food from a stall or container". That provision is well precedented in private legislation. Similar clauses were introduced as long ago as the 1930s. However, until 1979 local authorities did not apply that to food sold at pleasure fairs within the meaning of section 75 of the Public Health Act 1961.
In 1979 and 1980, the borough of Doncaster, under section 20 of the South Yorkshire Act, required travelling showmen to register for the first time. It is clear to members of the all-party group that registration for travelling showmen who provide refreshments at fairs presents problems both for showmen and for the local authorities, which seem to be out of all proportion to the public benefit that would stem from registration.
474 Travelling showmen visit dozens of fairs each year, in many different authorities. Separate registration would be needed for each showman and each authority, for fairs that last for only a day or two at a time. Travelling showmen who operate refreshment stalls are already bound by the regulations under the Food and Drugs Act. Their stalls are in the open air, and, therefore, readily available for inspection. Travelling showmen do not have premises within the meaning of clause 17(11). Therefore, any requirement to register them is rendered inappropriate by that clause.
Therefore, I hope that the amendment will be accepted to make it clear that travelling showmen who serve refreshments at pleasure fairs do not have to register in this way.

§ Mr. Raison
I have listened to the hon. Gentleman's argument. His amendment as drafted would provide exemptions that are not consistent with the exemptions in clause 17(10). That would produce complications. However, we are prepared to consider further the implications of his proposal with a view to tabling a revised amendment at Lords Committee stage. I hope that, on the basis of that assurance, the hon. Gentleman will not press his amendment.

§ Mr. Whitlock
I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.

§ Mr. Raison
I beg to move amendment No. 43, in page 19, line 4, after '(iii)', insert 'articles or substances used only as'. This is a technical amendment to bring the definition of "food" more closely into line with general food law.