§
Amendments made: No. 40, in page 192, column 3, at end insert—
'In Schedule 10, paragraphs 14
to 16.'.—[Mr. Allan Stewart.]
§ Order for Third Reading read.
§ [Queen's Consent, on behalf of the Crown, signified]
10.57 pm§ Mr. Allan StewartI beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.
I thank all right hon. and hon. Members who have taken part in the debates on the Bill. It is basically a non-contentious measure. Much of it consolidates 40 previous enactments. The fact that it has been non-contentious is shown by the absence of any Divisions. We are witnessing the disappearance of venerable Scottish enactments from the previous century. This Bill might not be quite so durable, but I have no doubt that it will be a sound and solid measure. I am sure that the House hopes that it will last a considerable time.
§ Mr. MaxtonIt must be said that, although this is a non-contentious Bill in a strict party political sense, in that there is no division between the Government and the Opposition, it is important to many of our constituents, as has been shown by the number of issues that have been raised.
We were misled by the Government about the way in which the Bill was to be considered. It was agreed that the Bill should be taken on the Floor of the House, and that there would be one day for the Committee stage, on the basis that the Bill was a non-contentious consolidation measure containing very little new material. We then found that pages and pages of Government amendments had been tabled. I do not believe that the Bill has been debated as fully as it should have been. I think that the hon. Member for Dumfries (Sir H. Monro) agrees with me, and probably the hon. Member for Tayside, North (Mr. Walker).
None the less, I hope that the Minister is right and that the legislation will be durable. I hope that it will last at least for the next four years and that thereafter the subject of roads in Scotland will be debated not here but—when the next Labour Government have been elected—where it should be debated, in an assembly in Edinburgh.
§ Mr. David Marshall (Glasgow, Shettleston)During the Committee stage last week, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary said that he would write to me about the questions that I had asked. He has now done so. Whilst his answers are not what I might have hoped, they are very helpful and I thank him for them.
§ Mr. CraigenI feel that the Bill may haunt us for some time. There have been so many drafting errors—including some discovered this evening—that I feel sure that amending orders will be necessary.
Codification is normally regarded as a means of making life easier for those who have to deal with a multitude of statutes. My initial welcome, on Second Reading, of this consolidation measure on those grounds must be qualified in the light of experience. The Minister has given us some assurances that, now that we are moving into a rate-capping period, any extra costs connected with the innovations will be borne in mind. The costs of maintaining existing public roads and adopting and updating private roads will also fall upon the roads authorities.
Finally, there are some good and some bad provisions among the miscellaneous measures. There are some 919 circulars that encapsulate the views of the hon. Member for Dumfries (Sir H. Monro), at least in respect of hedgehog ramps. Among other measures, we welcome the road bonds, which will be useful.
I thank the Officers of the House and others who have been involved in this lengthy process.
§ Bill accordingly read the Third time, and passed.