COMMONS AMENDMENT. (Hansard, 27 July 1948)

§ VISCOUNT HALL

My Lords, I beg to move that we agree with the Commons in their first Amendment. During the discussion on this Bill in another place, Clause 4 came under a certain amount of criticism. In the course of the debate, an assurance was given that an Amendment would be produced on the lines of that to which I am now asking your Lordships to agree. The purpose of this Amendment is to give the Corporation reasonable freedom of action and discretion in matters within their normal functions, particularly those which are carried out in the way of experiment or trial, whilst at the same time retaining a proper amount of departmental supervision over any activities of an exceptional kind which the Corporation undertake. The second part of the Amendment deals with assistance given to others for the purpose of developing or exploiting an invention, and it is felt that the public interest would not be prejudiced if the Corporation were left to exercise their own judgment in connection with small sums provided for such purposes. Accordingly, the Amendment provides that assistance without Board of Trade consent may be given by the Corporation to any one person up to a total sum of £500 in any one year. Such action, of course, will be taken by the Corporation only when, in their judgment, it is in the public interest that assistance should be given. I beg to move that this House do agree with the Commons in the said Amendment.