NON-RECOGNISED BODIES (Hansard, 16 October 1990)

§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
I beg to move Government amendment No. 2, in page 3, line 3, leave out subsection (2) and insert—
'(2) For the purposes of this Part of this Act, any body which is not—

(a) a recognised body; or

(b) a body which is—

(i) registered as a charity in England and Wales under section 4 of the Charities Act 1960; or

(ii) a charity which is not required to register by virtue of subsection (4) is a non-recognised body.'

§ Madam Deputy Speaker
With this we may take Government amendment No. 13.

§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
Clause 2(2) defines the expression "non-recognised" body. The subsection was criticised by my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Perth and Kinross (Sir N. Fairbairn) and by my hon. Friend the Member for Ipswich (Mr. Irvine), who found the double negatives confusing. The amendment is a drafting amendment, the purpose of which is to avoid the use of multiple negatives.

§ Mr. Dewar
I am sorry that the hon. Member for Ipswich (Mr. Irvine) is not with us today because, on occasion, he greatly entertained me in Committee. I certainly had a great deal of sympathy with his inability to follow the tortuous double negatives that were built into the Bill.
Out of curiosity, I should like to engage the Minister's attention on a much smaller matter. By a happy coincidence, amendment No. 13 refers to clause 13, which states: 'non-recognised body' has the meaning given by section 2 of this Act". Amendment No. 13 would remove the words has the meaning given by and insert the words shall be construed in accordance with Can the Minister explain why that important change is proposed and what practical difference the amendment will make?

§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
It makes for greater accuracy and clarity and would make the provision easier for the general public to interpret.