HC Deb 17 July 1985 vol 83 cc405-6 9.30 pm
The Attorney-General

I beg to move amendment No. 9, in page 15, line 38, at end insert— '(4A) Where—

  1. (a) an application for a licence is made in accordance with section 13 by a person who, at the date of the application, already holds a licence under this Part; and
  2. (b) no new licence is issued to him in pursuance of the application before the time when his existing licence would, apart from this subsection, expire in accordance with subsection (4), his existing licence shall not expire at that time but shall continue in force until a new licence is issued to him in pursuance of the application or, if the application is refused by the Council—
  3. 406
    1. (i) until the end of the period within which an appeal may be 'Drought against the refusal under section 28(1)(a); or
    2. (ii) if such an appeal is brought, until the appeal is determined or abandoned.'.

Mr. Speaker

With this, we may take Government amendments Nos. 10, 13, 19 and 21 to 24.

The Attorney-General

In Committee, the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East (Mr. Brown) moved an amendment to clause 11 designed to ensure that licensed conveyancers should not be prevented from practising when their application to renew an existing licence was not dealt with in time by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. I undertook to bring forward an amendment to cover the point.

As so often happens, while we were considering the matter raised by the hon. Gentleman, other issues arose which are covered by the amendments grouped with No. 9. Two remove from the council the power to revoke recognition of a body corporate on the grounds of fraud or error and enable the discipline and appeals committee, which is a much better body, to exercise that power. That fits in with the respective roles of the council and the committee under part II.

Two other amendments introduce a right of appeal against refusals to grant recognition to bodies corporate, whether of licensed conveyancers or of solicitors. An amendment to schedule 3 ensures that the council's rule-making powers regarding proceedings before the discipline and appeals committee is sufficiently flexible.

Amendment agreed to.

Amendment made: No. 10, in page 16, line 1, leave out 'of expiry of his previous licence' and insert 'when his previous licence expired in accordance with subsection (4) (or would have so expired but for subsection (4A))'.—[The Attorney-General.]

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