§ Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee, read.
§ Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee.—(Lord Stanmore.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.
§ House in Committee accordingly.
§ [The EARL OF DONOUGHMORE in the Chair.]
§ Clause 1:
§ Power to substitute standard of calorific power for standard of illuminating power.
§ 1.—(1) Where by virtue of any Act or Order confirmed by Act of Parliament regulating the undertaking of any company, authority, or person authorised to supply gas in any area in the United Kingdom (hereinafter referred to as the undertakers), the gas supplied by the undertakers is required to be of a prescribed illuminating power, and the undertakers are liable to penalties in the case of the illuminating power of the gas provided by them being less than, or being less by a prescribed extent than such prescribed illuminating power, then on application being made by the undertakers the appropriate Government department may, if they think it expedient, and subject to such conditions, if any, as they consider proper, by order—
- (a) substitute for the prescribed standard of illuminating power a prescribed standard of calorific power;
- (b) exempt the undertakers from penalties in respect of a deficiency in illuminating power and substitute for the provisions imposing such penalties provisions imposing penalties in the case of deficiency in calorific power; and
- (c) substitute for the provisions as to testing for illuminating power provisions as to testing for calorific power;
§ (2) In considering the expediency of making such an order the department shall have special regard to whether the undertakers have erected and worked, or are prepared to erect and work suitable crude benzol recovery plant for the production of benzol and toluol.
§ (3) Before making an order under this section the appropriate Government department shall require the undertakers to give public notice in such manner as the department may consider best adapted for informing persons affected of the application for an order under this section, and of the calorific standard proposed to be adopted, and as to the manner in which and time within which objections may he made, and shall consider any objections which may be duly made, and shall where they think it expedient to do so hold an inquiry, and the costs (if any) incurred by the Department in connection with the inquiry shall be borne by the undertakers.
§ (4) For the purposes of this section "the appropriate Government department" means—
- (a) in cases where the undertakers are a local authority, the Local Government Board or the Secretary for Scotland, or the Local Government Board for Ireland, as the case may be; and
- (b) in any other case the Board of Trade.
§ VISCOUNT CHURCHILL moved to insert additional words in subsection (1), immediately before paragraph (a). The noble Viscount said: The Amendment standing in my name is of a technical nature. It is the result of discussion between the experts, and I understand that the noble Lord in charge of the Bill is willing to accept it. I beg to move.
§
Amendment moved—
Clause 1, page 1, line 16, after ("proper") insert ("including such variation as they may think desirable of the prescribed pressure at which the gas is to be supplied").—(Viscount Churchill.)
§ LORD STANMOREOn behalf of the Government, I shall be very glad to accept the noble Viscount's Amendment.
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ LORD STANMORE moved to omit the word "special" ["the special Act or Order"] at the end of subsection (1). The noble Lord said: Tins is merely a drafting Amendment to make the wording in this line correspond to the wording in the first line of the clause.
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§
Amendment moved—
Clause 1, page 2, line 1, leave out ("special").—(Lord Stanmore.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ Clause 1, as amended, agreed to.
§ Remaining clause agreed to.
§ The Report of Amendments to be received on Tuesday next.