HL Deb 22 March 1934 vol 91 cc370-4

Amendments reported (according to Order).

Clause 1:

Issue of capital by undertakers.

(3) Where, on such an application, it appears to the Board that the share capital of the applicants, being capital of the same class as that to which the application relates, is not quoted on the London Stock Exchange or has not been dealt in on that exchange during the month immediately preceding the application, the Board shall not authorise the capital to be offered as aforesaid unless they are satisfied that the proposed terms of the offer are the best obtainable by the applicants, and for that purpose the applicants shall furnish the Board with such documents and information (including a written opinion of the secretary of, or a member of, some recognised stock exchange in Great Britain as to the said proposed terms) as the Board of Trade may require.

LORD TEMPLEMORE moved, in subsection (3), after "not" ["not quoted on the London Stock Exchange"] to insert "officially." The noble Lord said: My Lords, this Amendment is consequential on the insertion in Committee of the word "officially" in Clause 1, page 1, line 19. The Amendment should have been made during the Committee stage and I apologise for the omission.

Amendment moved— Page 2, line 7, after ("not") insert ("officially").—(Lord Templemore.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 5:

Publication of prices by undertakers and consequences thereof.

(5)In relation to any thermal unit undertakers, being the council of a county or county borough, the provisions of this section shall have effect as if references to the Board of Trade were substituted for references to the local authority or local authorities.

LORD TEMPLEMORE moved, at the end of subsection (5), to insert: Provided that where the limits of supply of any thermal unit undertakers, being the council of a county borough, extend beyond the boundaries of the borough, references to the Board of Trade shall be added to, and not substituted for, references to the local authority or local authorities.

The noble Lord said: My Lords, this Amendment is necessary to provide that where the council of a county borought are undertakers and are authorised to supply gas beyond the county borough the local authorities in the outer area of supply shall be entitled to receive notice of the published price of gas. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 8, line 35, at end insert the said proviso.—(Lord Templemore.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 7:

Imposition of statutory powers and duties on non-statutory undertakers.

(3) A notice under this section shall require the undertakers within six months from the date of the notice to make an application to the Board of Trade for a special order under Section ten of the principal Act containing provisions— (d) regulating the capital of the undertakers and the dividend payable by them and the price to be charged by them for gas; but any draft order submitted by the undertakers in pursuance of the notice may vary or except any provision of the Gasworks Clauses Act, 1847, or of the Gasworks Clauses Act, 1871, in manner provided by any special Act for the time being in force, and may contain any other provision which could lawfully be made by an order made under Section one or Section ten of the principal Act.

VISCOUNT MERSEY moved, in paragraph (d) of subsection (3), to leave out "the capital of the undertakers and the dividend payable by them and". The noble Viscount said: My Lords, this really is a purely drafting Amendment. Clause 7 sets out the procedure whereby the Board of Trade can impose statutory powers and duties upon non-statutory undertakers with a certain output. Non-statutory undertakers may be company undertakers or local authority undertakers, and in the latter case of course the words "capital" and "dividend" are not applicable. If your Lordships accept this Amendment I will then move a consequential Amendment. Both these Amendments are put forward by the National Gas Council and I understand they are approved by the Board of Trade.

Amendment moved— Page 11, lines 7 and 8, leave out ("the capital of the undertakers and the dividend payable by them and").—(Viscount Mersey.)

LORD TEMPLEMORE

My Lords, the Government fully realise that a few such cases as my noble friend referred to may arise and they are prepared to accept this Amendment and the next Amendment on the Paper.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

VISCOUNT MERSEY

My Lords, I now beg to move my second Amendment, which is consequential.

Amendment moved— Page 11, line 9, at end insert ("and in the case of the undertakers not being a local authority the capital of the undertakers and the dividend in respect thereof").—(Viscount Mersey.)

On Question, Amendment agreed.

Clause 12:

Amendment as to deficiency in calorific value.

12.—(1)If in any quarter the average calorific value of the gas supplied in an examination area by any thermal unit undertakers is ascertained to be less than the declared calorific value, the Board of Trade shall determine as nearly as may be the sum (in this subsection referred to as "the excess revenue") by which the revenue of the undertakers has been improperly increased thereby, and—

  1. (a)where the excess revenue when divided by the number of therms supplied by the undertakers in the said area in the next following quarter produces a sum less than one-fifth of a penny, an amount equal to the excess revenue shall be paid by the undertakers (over and above the amount payable under Section seven of the principal Act) into the gas fund in the next following year;
  2. (b)where the excess revenue when divided as aforesaid produces a sum not less than one-fith of a penny, the undertakers shall allow to every consumer in respect of each therm so supplied to him a credit of one-fifth of a penny or, where the sum so produced is not less than twofifths, of a penny a credit equal to such simple multiple of one-fifth of a penny as most nearly approximates to without exceeding the sum so produced, and the difference (if any) between the excess revenue and the aggregate amount of such credits shall be paid into the gas fund as aforesaid.

VISCOUNT MERSEY moved in paragraph (b) of subsection (l), after "consumer," to insert "who is a consumer in the said area at the end of the next following quarter." The noble Viscount said: My Lords, this clause imposes a penalty upon undertakers who any quarter supply gas the average calorific value of which is less than the prescribed calorific value. The penalty takes the form of restoring to the consumers a sum of money equal to the loss they sustain by reason a the calorific value being less than that prescribed. Where a consumer, however, has changed his premises, and therefore in all probability cannot be found, it will be impossible for the gas undertaker to restore to him the proportion of the money to be returned. The Amendment is necessary to meet this eventuality.

Amendment moved— Page 16, line 15, after ("consumer") insert ("who is a consumer in the said area at the end of the next following quarter").—(Viscount Mersey.)

LORD TEMPLEMORE

My Lords, the Government are much obliged to my noble friend for moving this Amendment and I am pleased to accept it.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 25 [Interpretation]:

LORD TEMPLEMORE moved to insert the following new subsection: (4) Where any non-statutory undertakers carry on two or more gas undertakings. which are not connected with each other by pipes, the gas supplied by the several undertakings shall, for the purpose of any provision of this Act relating to non-statutory undertakers be deemed to be supplied by different undertakers.

The noble Lord said: My Lords, there are some companies which own non-statutory undertakings in different parts of the country and the Amendment makes it clear that such undertakings shall be treated as separate undertakings for the purpose of Clauses 7 and 8 of the Bill. As the Bill is at present drafted it would appear that if the aggregate quantity of gas supplied by the several undertakings exceed in any year thirty or twenty million cubic feet, as the case may be, they would all fall within the provisions of those clauses notwithstanding that all or some of them individually supply less than the specified quantity of gas. It is thought a good thing that each undertaking should be dealt with as a separate unit. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 26, line 30, at end, insert the said new subsection.—(Lord Templemore.)

LORD MOUNT TEMPLE

On behalf of the National Gas Council I wish to thank the noble Lord for accepting this Amendment. They brought the matter to the notice of the Government, and in consequence this Amendment has been put in.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.