EXEMPT INFORMATION (Hansard, 5 July 1985)

§ Mr. Squire
I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker
With this, it will be convenient to take Lords amendments Nos. 11, 12 and 14.

§ Mr. Squire
These are important amendments. Amendment No. 10 substitutes a new paragraph 13 in respect of part 1 of schedule 12A. Amendment No. 12 substitutes an identical new paragraph in respect of the equivalent Scottish provision, which is paragraph 13 of part I of schedule 7A. In each case, the paragraph is qualified by paragraph 6 of part II of the appropriate schedule.
As amended, paragraph 13 of schedules 12A and 7A classes as exempt information which, if disclosed to the public, would reveal that the authority proposes either to give under any enactment a notice under or by virtue of which requirements are imposed on a person; or to make an order or direction under an enactment.
The paragraph is subject to the new qualification in paragraph 6 of part II of schedules 12A and 7A. The purpose of paragraph 13 is to enable a local authority to consider the case for a notice, order or direction and reach a decision on the matter without the person who would be affected by it becoming aware of it in advance, in a case where that person might, as a result, be able to take steps to defeat the authority's purpose. The obvious example is of demolishing a building which was to be the subject of a building preservation notice. Hon. Members will accept that it would be wrong to allow a person who may be thus affected to frustrate the intentions of the authority, assuming that it took such a decision in an ordinary committee.
The amendment broadens paragraph 13 to include circumstances where the authority proposes to make an order or direction under any enactment. This is because the principle behind paragraph 13 can apply to the making of an order or direction as to the serving of a notice. Inclusion of the words under or by virtue of which requirements are imposed on a person in (a) has narrowed the term "notice". It is unnecessary to include within the provision notices that merely inform the recipient of some matter as distinct from requiring him to do, or not to do, something. For example, a notice served on an owner or occupier saying that a compulsory purchase order had been made would not be covered, because there would be no particular advantage in obtaining that information if one could do nothing with it in advance of the decision.
Paragraph 13 does not confer new powers on the local authority to impose burdens or restrictions on citizens. It is merely designed to prevent existing powers being rendered potentially ineffective through premature disclosure as a result of the provisions of the Bill.
655 Amendments Nos. 11 and 14 substitute a new qualification in respect of paragraph 13 of part I of the schedule. The qualification provides that information falling within paragraph 13 of part I is exempt information if and so long as disclosure to the public might afford an opportunity to a person affected by the notice, order or direction to defeat the purposes, or one of the purposes, for which the notice, order or direction is to be given or made. The new qualification is in line with the principle behind new paragraph 13 of part I. It means that the local authority has discretion to close a meeting under paragraph 13 of part I only where premature disclosure of information to the public might afford an opportunity to the person affected to defeat the purpose of the notice, order or direction. The information will not be exempt once the notice, order or direction has been served or made.

§ Mr. Squire
I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker
With this it will be convenient to take Lords amendments Nos. 16 and 17.

§ Mr. Squire
These are simply tidying-up amendments. Amendment No. 13 corrects a slight mistake in the Bill as it left the House of Commons. The words or the subject matter of the collective agreement were, as the result of an amendment, left stranded at the end of a paragraph that no longer deals with labour relations matters. The amendment merely removes them. Amendments Nos. 16 and 17 are of a similar nature.