§ Constitution of the Admission Committee.
§ Part I.—Representative Bodies.
§ The Institution of Municipal and County Engineers.
§ The Society of Engineers.
§ The Chartered Surveyors Institution.
§ The Institution of Structural Engineers.
§ The Institute of Builders.
§ Part II.—Appointed Members.
§ Twelve members, being persons on the Register, to be appointed by the Council, of whom four shall be nominated by the Royal Institute of British Architects and four by the Incorporated Association of Architects and Surveyors and one by the Faculty of Architects and Surveyors.
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LORD PONSONBY OF SHULBREDE moved to leave out the heading to Part I of the Schedule and to insert:
The Admission Committee shall be composed of—
(1) one person nominated by each of the following bodies:—
§ The noble Lord said: This is purely drafting, and relates to the Amendment that I propose to move next.
§
Amendment moved—
Page 16, leave out line 3, and insert the said new words.—(Lord Ponsonby of, Shulbrede.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ LORD PONSONBY OF SHULBREDE moved to leave out Part II of the Schedule and to insert:
§ "; and
§ (2) not less than twelve or more than eighteen registered persons, of whom four shall be nominated by the Royal Institute of British Architects, four by the Incorporated Association of Architects and Surveyors, one by the Faculty of Architects and Surveyors, and the remainder by the Council:
§ Provided that so much of paragraph (2) of this Schedule as requires the persons nominated thereunder to be registered persons shall not apply in relation to the first appointment of the Admission Committee."
§ The noble Lord said: In regard to this Amendment there is an apparent alteration of the numbers of the registered persons to be appointed which requires explanation. As drafted in the Bill, Part. II says that twelve registered persons shall be appointed, of whom four shall be nominated by the Royal Institute of British Architects, four by the Incorporated Association of Architects and Surveyors and one by the Faculty of Architects and Surveyors. The revised draft, while preserving the numbers of these special nominations, gives the Council power to increase the total number from twelve to eighteen. The reason for this alteration is to be found in subsection (2) of Clause 5, which dealt. with the constitution of the Admission Committee. That subsection said that the Admission Committee shall amongst others include one representative of each of the bodies mentioned in Part I of the Third Schedule and twelve members appointed in accordance with Part II.
§ The significance of the expression "amongst others include" was very obscure, but it is understood that it was 1264 intended to give the Council power to make additional appointments over and above those mentioned in Part. II. Clearly a power to make an indefinite number of appointments would have enabled the Council to alter entirely the balance of representation laid down in the Third Schedule and, if exercised, might have exposed the constitution of the Admission Committee to attack in the Courts in view of the uncertain wording of subsection (2). The position could not be left as it was, and I think this is the most reasonable solution. It is proposed to fix 18 as the total number which may be appointed under Part II of the Schedule. The new proviso to paragraph 2 is necessary, as no one can get on to the register without his application being considered by the Admission Committee and, when that Committee begins to function, no one will be on the register.
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Amendment moved—
Page 16, leave out lines 9 to 14, and insert the said new words.—(Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede.)
§ On Question. Amendment agreed to.
§ Third Schedule, as amended, agreed to.