MENTAL DEFICIENCY BILL. (Hansard, 12 August 1913)

THE EARL OF CAMPERDOWN
If your Lordships look at Clause 29 you will see that it says that the local authority are thereby empowered, and it shall be their duty, subject to the provisions of this Bill and to regulations made by the Secretary of State, to ascertain what persons within their area are defective and to provide suitable and sufficient accommodation for such persons. Then when you get to the proviso you see a provision that nothing in this Bill shall he construed as imposing these obligations on local authorities where the contribution out of moneys provided by Parliament under this Bill towards the cost on income account of performing such duties is less than one-half of the net amount (as approved by the Board) of such cost. Clause 29 imposes a duty upon the local authority which may be enforced under Clause 31 by mandamus if thought necessary. Apparently the authority will be obliged to find the money in the first instance whether the amount is less or inure than one-half of the cost. If it should appear that they are supplying more than one-half of the cost they will have laid out their money, and the question is how will it be reimbursed, or will it be reimbursed to them at all. The same question arises on the Scottish Bill. Perhaps the noble and learned Viscount on the Woolsack will tell me exactly how that will work out.

THE LORD CHANCELLOR
I think that is a very reasonable question. It does not appear in the Bill how it is to be worked out, but I am in a position to state the plan which is to be adopted. The local authority are to be informed by the Board of Control what sums are likely to be available for expenditure in the district, and they are to be invited to submit for approval their schemes so that they may know what money may be required. The actual payments to the local authority will be made quarterly as soon as the accounts can be examined. The noble Earl sees that under this procedure the local authorities will be told in advance what sums of money are likely to be available and they need not work out their schemes until then.

THE EARL OF CAMPERDOWN
I have a slight amendment to the Amendment which your Lordships inserted in Clause 67 yesterday. As the clause stood it con-tamed these words, "Regulations made under this Act shall be laid before Parliament as soon as may be after they are made." Then your Lordships inserted these words, "and if within thirty days after they have been so laid either House of Parliament presents an Address to His Majesty praying that any such Regulations may be annulled, His Majesty may, by Order in Council, annul the Regulations," and so on. The Amendment which I have to propose is this, that after the word "thirty" the word "sitting" should be inserted; otherwise it would be possible, to put an extreme case, that the Regulations might be laid on the Table the last day of the sitting of Parliament, and of course within thirty days from that time they would become law. I imagine that the Government mean sitting days, and therefore I propose this slight alteration.

THE LORD CHANCELLOR
That is a most reasonable Amendment, and I at once accept it on behalf of the Government.

THE LORD CHANCELLOR
The House is aware that time is of importance with this Bill. I do not know whether in the circumstances your Lordships are prepared to give it a Third Reading to-day.

§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY
I should like to make a most friendly appeal to the Government. Yesterday the noble and learned Viscount on the Woolsack, who is in charge of the Bill, thought that he might shorten the proceedings on this Bill in your Lordships' House and in another place by not moving a large number of drafting Amendments which he believed were an improvement to the Bill, and which every one must admit would be an improvement to it. I ventured at the time to deprecate the action he took, and, if I may say so, I think for once his judgment erred. It was not likely to shorten the proceedings on the Bill by a tenth part of a second in another place, and the Bill will be an even worse piece of work without those Amendments. I would therefore appeal to the noble and learned Viscount whether at this last stage of the Bill he would not be willing, subject to the consent of your Lordships' House, because without general consent it cannot be done, to insert en bloc the drafting Amendments that he did not move yesterday. We have been assured on the authority of the Government that they are nothing but drafting Amendments, and I should accept the word of the Government on that absolutely. And if your Lordships agree, we can put in these purely drafting Amendments without notice on Third Reading. I am able to say on behalf of my friends on this side of the House that if the noble and learned Viscount will move these Amendments en bloc we shall be quite willing that they should be inserted.

THE LORD CHANCELLOR
Having reflected upon it, I think the course suggested by the noble Marquess is the course of wisdom and I will act upon his suggestion.