HL Deb 02 June 1921 vol 45 cc418-20

Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee read.

Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee—(Lord Emmott.)

THE EARL OF DONOUGHMORE

My Lords, in the interests of saving time I might say, in two or three sentences, that the Amendments which stand in my name are in a new form and have been substituted for those originally circulated. The reason is that my noble friend below the gangway has been good enough to allow me to discuss my Amendments with him. I desire to thank him for the spirit in which he met me. I think I am right in saying that he has given way upon one point to which he attached importance and that I have given way upon another, with the result that we are in agreement; and I will move the Amendments in this form feeling confident, that I have the concurrence of my noble friend in doing so.

LORD EMMOTT

That is so.

On Question, Motion agreed to.

House in Committee accordingly.

[The EARL, OF DONOUGHMORE in the Chair.]

Clause 1:

Power of local authority to levy rate for advertisement

1. From and after the passing of this Act the council of any borough or urban district may advertise the advantages and amenities of the borough or district or any part thereof as a health resort or watering place by the insertion of adver- tisements in newspapers not published within the borough or district so sought to be advertised, or by placards or otherwise as they may see fit, and may expend money for the purpose as provided by this Act.

THE EARL OF DONOUGHMORE moved, at the beginning of the clause, to leave out "From and after the passing," and to insert "Subject to the provisions."

Amendment moved— Page 1, line 6, leave out ("From and after the passing") and insert ("Subject to the provisions")—(The Earl of Donoughmore.)

LORD EMMOTT

I may say, on behalf of the promoters of the Bill, that I accept all the Amendments in the name of the noble Earl, and I am very grateful to him for the assistance which he has given me in regard to this matter.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Amendment moved— Page 1, lines 12 and 13, leave out ("placards or otherwise as they may see fit") and insert ("handbooks or leaflets, or by placards at railway stations")—(The Earl of Donoughmore.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 1, as amended, agreed to.

Clause 2 agreed to.

THE EARL OF DONOUGHMORE moved, after Clause 2, to insert the following new clause— 3. This Act shall extend to any borough or urban district in England or Wales in which it is adopted under the provisions of the Public Health Acts Amendment Act, 1890, and section three of that Act shall have effect as if this Act were an adoptive part of that Act.

Amendment moved— After Clause 2 insert the said new clause— (The Earl of Donoughmore.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to

Clause 3:

Application to Scotland

3. This Act in its application to Scotland shall be subject to the following modifications:— The town council of any burgh or police burgh or the county council of any county within the meaning of the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. 50)," shall be substituted for "the council of any, borough or urban district," and "burgh or police burgh or any special district in the county formed under the Public Health (Scotland) Acts or the Local Government (Scotland) Acts," shall be substituted for "borough or district.

LORD STANMORE moved to leave out all the words after "subject to the following modifications" and insert "'Burgh' shall be substituted for 'borough,' and references to urban districts shall not apply." The noble Lord said: In the absence of any local authority in Scotland corresponding to the urban district council it was apparently considered desirable in the Scottish application of the clause to introduce the county council as an authority In Scotland, however, practically all resorts of the kind which in England would fall in the area of an urban district council are municipalities, and therefore there appears to be no reason for the inclusion of county councils as local authorities. There is also a positive objection to this course. It would enable the county council to devote the profits for the letting of chairs and soon in one place in the county to advertising the advantages of another. No representations from county councils in favour of the powers conferred by the Bill have been received by the Scottish Office, and the Secretary for Scotland considers that, for the reason stated, these powers should be conferred only upon town councils. So far as the latter are concerned, the translation proposed in the Amendment does all that is required.

Amendment moved— Page 2, leave out lines 3 to 12, and insert ("'Burgh" shall he substituted for 'borough,' and references to urban districts shall not apply")—(Lord Stanmore.)

LORD EMMOTT

I may explain to your Lordships that Scotland was put into this Bill at the request of certain Scottish authorities. It is quite evident, from what my noble friend who has moved the Amendmeat has just said, that the form of the clause in the Bill as presented is not satisfactory, and I accept the Amendment which he proposed.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 3, as amended, agreed to.

Clause 4 agreed to.