§ VISCOUNT WOOLTONMy Lords, you will recall that at the conclusion of the Report stage of the Food and Drugs Amendment Bill on February 16, the House agreed to a Motion which I then moved, That the Bill be re-committed to a Committee of the Whole House. The reason for that Motion was that at the time it was proposed, as I then informed your Lordships, to incorporate in the Bill certain entirely new provisions relating to slaughterhouses. I thought that these would be better discussed in Committee than on the Third Reading. We have now decided that the provisions dealing with slaughterhouses, which, in view of the forthcoming derationing of meat are of much urgency, would more conveniently and expeditiously be made the subject of a separate Bill. I have just introduced that Bill to your Lordships. It deals with proposals for Scotland as well as for England and Wales.
The necessity for the recommittal of the Food and Drugs Bill has, therefore, disappeared, and accordingly I beg to move the Motion that stands in my name on the Order Paper. The effect of your Lordships' agreement, if you are good enough to give it to me, will be that the next stage of the Food and Drugs Bill will be the Third Reading, and any Amendments which have been put down for the recommittal stage will no doubt be re-circulated and moved on the Third Reading, which I propose to ask your Lordships to take on Tuesday, March 30.
§ Moved, That the Order made on the 16th of February last, for the Food and Drugs Amendment Bill to be recommitted to a Committee of the Whole 512 House, be discharged, and that the Bill be read 3 on Tuesday the 30th instant.—(Viscount Woolton.)
§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHMy Lords, one fully understands the statement with regard to the desire to avoid the recommittal of the Food and Drugs Bill at the point at which it was left. I should, however, like to ask a question about the other part of the noble Viscount's statement: that is, the future policy with regard to the law relating to slaughterhouses and things of that kind. Is that going to be dealt with under the same Department as it always used to be under the Food and Drugs Act, or how will it be dealt with? Which Department will deal with it?
§ VISCOUNT WOOLTONMy Lords, it will be dealt with under the Bill (when it becomes an Act) that I have just introduced. The position was that we found that these new regulations regarding slaughterhouses were urgently required. I thought I could get them through more quickly by providing for them under the Food and Drugs Bill, which was reasonably appropriate for that purpose. I then found, however, that we should have to introduce similar regulations for Scotland, but in rather larger numbers. I came to the conclusion that it was asking too much of your Lordships to put into the English Food and Drugs Bill these provisions relating to both England and Scotland, and that it would be a much cleaner job to make a separate Bill of them altogether. Since the matter was one of considerable urgency I thought, and I was so advised, that both here and in another place the new provisions would go through much more quickly as one separate, comparatively small Bill. That is what I hope your Lordships will be good enough to approve. I hope I have satisfied the noble Viscount with the answer I have given him.
§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHI am much obliged to the noble Viscount. I can quite see how the noble Viscount's mind has been working, but we should like to know with whom we shall have to deal in the subsequent stages. I gathered from the first part of the noble Viscount's answer that, although this change has been made, nevertheless the new Bill will be incorporated finally in the reconstituted Food and Drugs Act.
§ VISCOUNT WOOLTONNo; it will be a separate Bill.
§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHThen which Department will be responsible?
§ VISCOUNT WOOLTONThe Ministry of Food.
§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHThank you very much.
§ On Question, Motion agreed to: Order discharged accordingly.