INTERPRETATION AND REPEALS (Hansard, 18 January 1984)

§ Mr. Ancram
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker
With this it will be convenient to discuss Government amendments Nos. 2 and 10.

§ Mr. Ancram
This new clause and the two amendments that go with it are technical amendments which relate mainly to the Bill's transitional provisions. I hope that I shall not need to detain the House long. Clause 13(1) removes the interpretation provisions at present in clause 1 to a new clause at the end. That will also apply to clause 2, which was inserted in Committee, and the new clauses dealing with the removal of the 12-month restriction on re-applications to purchase, and the sale of teachers' houses by island councils. As a result, section 1(4) becomes redundant and the purpose of amendment No. 2 is to leave it out. New clause 13(2) introduces a new schedule of repeals which gather together all the provisions repealed elsewhere in the Bill.
Subsection (2) also provides that section 13(12)(b) of the Matrimonial Homes (Family Protection) (Scotland) Act 1981 is repealed and shall be deemed never to have had effect. Section 13(12)(b) amended section 15 of the 1980 Act, but unfortunately the amendment was defective because the 1980 Act had already been amended by schedule 3 to the Local Government (Miscellaneous 347 Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1981. Repealing the section will put the matter to rights and remove a potential confusion in the legislation.
I assure hon. Gentlemen that the section does not do anything material but clears up a deficiency. These are technical amendments and I hope that the House will endorse them.