§ Read 3a (according to Order).
§ Clause 1:
§ Extension of powers under section 16 of the Railways Act, 1921.
§ 1. Where application is made by a railway company under Section sixteen of the Railways Act, 1921, for authority to provide any alteration, extension or improvement of existing works, the Minister may, by order under that section, notwithstanding anything therein contained, authorise the construction of the works if the expenditure involved will not exceed five hundred thousand pounds.
§
THE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES (THE EARL OF DONOUGHMORE) moved, at the end of the clause, to insert:
Provided that any order by the Minister under that section authorising the alteration, extension or improvement of works involving an expenditure exceeding one hundred thousand pounds shall be subject to the same procedure as an order under Section seventeen of the said Act authorising the acquisition of land.
§
The noble Earl said: My Lords, although I have given Notice of this Amendment on the Third Reading of the Bill I need not assure my noble friend Lord Somerleyton, who is in charge of it, that I am not moving it in any spirit of hostility. We are all indebted to him for the clear exposition he gave of the measure on the Second Reading, and I particularly noticed what he said as to the intention of the Government in reference to the retention of Parliamentary control in the matters concerned. He said, and I am quoting from the OFFICIAL REPORT of April 26 last:
As to control, Parliamentary control is retained under the provisions of Section 29
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of the Ministry of Transport Act, 1919. Those provisions have the effect of securing that any draft Order of the Minister under the provisions of the Bill must be submitted to the Chairman of Committees of the House of Lords, and the Chairman of Ways and Means in the House of Commons, and that if they consider that the proposals of the Order are of such a character or magnitude that they ought to be submitted to Parliament, the Order can only be made after it has been approved by Resolution of both Houses. I trust your Lordships will agree that this control is properly constituted.
I have been into this matter very carefully with my legal adviser, and it has also been discussed between the noble Lord and myself. I am much obliged to him for the way he has met me.
§ The position, as I find it, is this. This Bill is concerned with Sections 16 and 17 of the Railways Act, 1921. Section 16, amongst other things, authorises the Minister of Transport to make an Order authorising a railway company to provide minor alterations and extensions and improvements of existing works involving a capital expenditure not exceeding £100,000. This Bill raises that amount to £500,000. Under Section 17 the Minister may authorise it company to acquire land compulsorily for this purpose. I am satisfied that an Order made under Section 16 only is not subject to any Parliamentary confirmation at all. An Order made a under Section 17 is subject to the procedure described by my noble friend in his speech on the Second Reading—namely, it has to be submitted to the Chairman of each House, and if they are satisfied that it is necessary, the matter may have to be debated in Parliament.
§ I hope I have made the position clear. It is for this reason that I feel it necessary to move the Amendment. I am satisfied that under Section 16 there is no Parliamentary control, such as I think the Government itself intended. I can assure my noble friend and the Government and the House that I am anxious to serve them when duties are put upon me by Parliament; but I am satisfied that if a scheme were made under Section 16 only, not involving any compulsory purchase of land, and it came before the Chairman of Ways and Means and myself we should have no locus standi to act in the matter. Realising that the Government are anxious to bring us into this matter, I feel it necessary to 1090 move the Amendment in order to regularise our position and I hope my noble friend will see his way to agree to it.
§
Amendment moved—
Clause 1, page 1, line 13, at end insert the said proviso.—(The Earl of Donoughmore.)
§ LORD SOMERLEYTONMy Lords, this question has been very fully discussed privately between the noble Earl and myself. I was hoping that he would not feel bound to press his Amendment to a Division, but as I understand he has indicated his intention to do so I am prepared to accept it. I would ask him, however, to add at the end of his Amendment the words "and the construction of works." I understand he is prepared to do so, and if they are added I shall be perfectly satisfied.
§
Amendment to the Amendment moved—
At end of the proposed Amendment insert ("and the construction of works").—(Lord Somerleyton.)
§ EARL BEAUCHAMPMy Lords, I cannot refrain from saying that what has passed in connection with this Bill has added a great deal of weight to what I said just now with regard to the Agricultural Returns Bill. Here is a Bill which received its Second Reading on Tuesday last. No opportunity was given to the Chairman of Committees, or to any other member of your Lordships' House, to put down Amendments to it unless he did so at once, at the end of that sitting. Now it is down for Third Reading, and the Amendment proposed by the noble Lord to the Amendment moved by the Lord Chairman is not down on the Paper, so that no member has had an opportunity of considering it. I do not wish to delay the passage of the measure but I cannot help observing that, although the Amendment of the Lord Chairman has been on the Paper, the Amendment moved by the noble Lord has not been printed and has not been before your Lordships' House in any way. I hope that His Majesty's Government will, in future, give us a little more time instead of hurrying things through in this way. There is no extraordinary necessity for hurrying on legislation in this manner.
§ VISCOUNT LONG OF WRAXALLMy Lords, I hope the noble Lord in charge of the Bill will represent to the noble 1091 Marquess the Leader of the House the remarks which have just fallen from the noble Earl. Coming to this House after having spent most of my life in another place I have been amazed at the extraordinary difficulty of ascertaining what our business is going to be; the difficulty of finding out what Bills are coming on, and whether we can take some of them as formal or not. In the other House it would be regarded, shall I say, as an outrage if the Government put down a Bill for Second Reading and then took the Committee Stage within a few hours. They would not be allowed to do it. Here, of course, gentler measures obtain and Governments get more latitude. I hope the noble Earl, however, will press his suggestion upon the Leader of the House. I am sure it will be to the advantage not only of your Lordships but of the legislation that we pass if a little more time is given to its consideration.
§ LORD SOMERLEYTONMy Lords, I will certainly report to the noble Marquess the Leader of the House the opinion that has been expressed by noble Lords on this matter. I trust that in this particular case, as the Lord Chairman has given his whole attention to it and gone into it thoroughly, your Lordships will be satisfied that the best possible consideration has been given to it.
THE EARL OF DONOUGHMOREMay I say that I am most grateful to the noble Lord for the way he has met me in the matter?
§ On Question, Amendment to the Amendment agreed to.
§ Amendment, as amended, agreed to.
§ Bill passed, and sent to the Commons.