SUMMER TIME ORDER, 1960 (Hansard, 19 December 1960)

EARL BATHURST
My Lords, summer time was first brought into operation in the First War. Since its inception there have been various dates and various lengths of time, governed partly by an Act of 1922, partly by one passed in 1925 and most recently by an Act passed in 1947. There have also been two periods of double summer time. All the periods of summer time have been argued, and they are arguable. However, since 1952 we have reverted to the times and dates that were laid down in the 1925 Act. Those dates are the Sunday following the third Saturday in April, unless that Sunday is Easter Sunday, in which case we then adopt the second Saturday in April. That happened this year, 1960, when the date was April 10. The sun rose at nineteen minutes past five, Greenwich Mean Time, and set at 6.46 Greenwich Mean Time. We then turned our clocks on, so giving ourselves less morning light but more evening light by pretending that the sun set an hour later. Summer Time finished, again under the 1925 Act, on the Sunday after the first Saturday in October. That was on October 2 of this year. The sun rose at 7 o'clock by British Summer Time and set at 6.38 by British Summer Time. We then turned our clocks back and gave ourselves more daylight in the morning, as the sun continued to rise later, and we gave ourselves less and less time in the evening. That, as we turn the clocks back brings the long evenings drawing ever closer up to December 10th when the sun sets earliest in the evening in the winter in this country, which is 3.51 by the present time, in other words. Greenwich Mean Time.
My right honourable friend sent out a questionnaire to 178 organisations who would be interested in the question of 703 British Summer Time. In fact, of course, summer time affects every single man, woman and child in the country. The questions which this questionnaire sought information upon were, first, should there be any change?—in other words, should British Summer Time go on as under the 1925 Act, which I have just described? Secondly, should there be an extension of summer time in the autumn? Thirdly, should there be an extension of summer time in the spring and autumn? Fourthly, should we adopt the Mid-European Time all the year round?—that is, extend the existing British Summer Time for the whole year. These 178 organisations were, as I say, circulated, and there were many and most interesting answers received from them. My right honourable friend gave all these answers the closest examination and, of course, looked into all the reasons for them. We felt that our duty was to make a balance to secure the greatest amount of daylight for the majority of our people during their leisure hours (and that must normally be during evening time) on the one hand, and yet, at the same time, cause the least hardship and inconvenience to our outdoor industries and to the men and women who work in them. That is not only the farming industry: one can think of many industries which depend on their work being done efficiently during the hours of daylight.
My right honourable friend concluded that the course which brought the biggest benefit to the greatest majority of people in the country was the third choice; that is, the extension of summer time in the spring and again in the autumn. I would agree that that was not the majority answer to the questionnnaire, but a large number of small bodies replied with their opinions on the questionnnaire, and it was felt that the particular reasons why they would wish to adopt the Mid-European Time did not, in fact, correspond to giving the greatest benefit to the largest number of people in this country. We therefore propose that summer time in 1961 shall begin three weeks earlier in the spring; that will be on Sunday, March 26, when the sun will rise at 5.50, Greenwich Mean Time, and will set at 6.25, Greenwich Mean Time. And it will then end three weeks later in the autumn, 704 on Sunday, October 29, 1961, when the sun will rise at 7.48, British Summer Time and sunset will be at 5.39, British Summer Time. We believe that this will be of the greatest benefit to late holidaymakers, to sports—football, tennis and so forth—gardening and many other interests up and down the country.
My Lords, that is the purpose of this modest Order. As I say, it deals only with 1961, and should any further change be required to be made a similar Order will have to be laid before both Houses of Parliament, as indeed this Order has been so laid. I beg to move.

§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGH
My Lords, I am obliged to the noble Earl for the clear explanation he has given of the steps that are being taken and the decision which the Government have arrived at. I think that, taken by and large, the general conclusion of the Government will be welcomed by the majority of people. What I think concerns us most of all is one of the matters the noble Earl referred to towards the end of his remarks; that is, the possibility of getting some real alignment between the British Summer Time Orders and the practice followed in European countries.
I am concerned—and I dare say that many noble Lords with far wider knowledge than I have are, too—as to the effect in regard to aviation. It would be an enormous advantage if there could be an exactitude between the summer time decisions here and those taken in Europe. I gather from people who fly from time to time (I used to, but I do not now) that they have often found there was great inconvenience. And when there is the possibility of fearful accidents in the air, due to even the slightest confusion in some of the more crowded routes of aviation, it seems to me that it would be a great relief if the actual clock times were uniform. I am wondering whether the Government have anything to say to us upon that matter.

§ VISCOUNT FURNESS
My Lords, I rise briefly to welcome this Order. I do not propose to detain your Lordships long, because we are aware of the statement by the Government Chief Whip that your Lordships are anxious to continue the Committee stage of the Weights and Measures Bill. Perhaps I might begin by following the noble Viscount who leads the Opposition and ask my noble friend who is to reply whether it is not the case that all aviation in Europe does in fact rim on Greenwich Mean Time, whether or not summer time is in force. I refer not so much to the hours of schedules, but to pilots' watches, Which presumably are the things that matter in the case of accidents.
If I may say so, I think the draft Order now before the House is a typical British compromise to the various replies to the questionnaire. The long-term answer might be to have one time. It might be Greenwich Mean Time, it might he British Summer Time or Central European Time all the year round. If Summer Time were adopted, [there would be an anomalous situation regarding G.M.T. There would be only a few countries left in the world using it, among them Portugal and Ghana. Central European Time has its advantages for dealing with Continental Europe. Stock exchanges and businesses generally on the Continent of Europe are considerably affected by the operation of Greenwich Mean Time in this country. I do not propose to advocate one or the other, but undoubtedly your Lordships, as well as others concerned, will be giving this matter considerable thought in the next year before it becomes necessary to lay an Order in respect of 1962. I hope that the noble Earl who is to reply on behalf of Her Majesty's Government will see that serious consideration is given to this problem and perhaps to aid your Lordships in that consideration he would consider the possibility of placing in the Library of your Lordshps' House summaries of the replies to the questionnaire.

LORD SALTOUN
My Lords, while I accept the statement of the noble Earl that the extension of Summer Time is for the benefit of the greater part of the country, I feel it is regrettable that the people who can be injured by it receive no compensation from the rest of the 706 community who enjoy the benefits which they lose. I am aware that the Order in front of your Lordships at this moment would have made no difference this year, because in this last disastrous harvest in the North of Scotland there would have been little corn standing by the time this extension would have come into force. But I should like to point out to your Lordships that Summer Time in the North of Scotland means that it is very late in the day, even in fine weather, before the dew has sufficiently evaporated off the crop to enable cutting to commence. That means that Summer Time drastically curtails the time which is allowed to the farmer to get his crop in, in a climate where good harvest days are generally reckoned on the fingers of one hand. Therefore, while I do not propose to object to this Order—and I know it would be futile to object to Summer Time for a purely local reason like that—I feel that compensation should be given to people who suffer from this Order by way of some slight additional grant or some relief in taxation.

THE EARL OF GOSFORD
My Lords, the first Question I put down on becoming a Member of your Lordships' House was on this very subject, asking Her Majesty's Government to do exactly what they are proposing to do now. I had to withdraw the Question because of rather sudden translation to the Bench in front of me, but in between the time that my Question was on the Order Paper and when it was removed I had a volume of correspondence which had to be seen to be believed. I was not capable of replying to all of it. I admit that there were one or two "funnies" and amusing ones, and one or two threats, but the bulk, which must have run into thousands, were from people who thought this was an idea which would bring greater benefit to far more people than the disadvantages it would appear to bring to those who would not gain from it. When we get a summer at all, it is more often than not an Indian summer, and it is in the middle fortnight of October that we find ourselves deprived of daylight in the evening. I am sure that this measure will give much pleasure and benefit to millions of Her Majesty's subjects.

LORD FARINGDON
My Lords, the noble Earl said that he had consulted 707 a number of bodies. Could he tell us what bodies representing the agricultural community he consulted, and what were their replies?

EARL BATHURST
My Lords, I want to assure the noble Viscount opposite, and my noble friend, Lord Furness, that all the factors that they mentioned—and especially the factors concerning European time which, of course, is the same as our Summer Time (as it will be for a longer period under this proposed Order)—have been most seriously considered. But against all those factors, as I endeavoured to show in the course of my opening remarks, we must remember that the ordinary man, woman and child will he subjected to an extra hour of darkness in the morning. Maybe we shall get used to that idea, and it may be that in future—who can tell?—it will be possible to extend still further this period of Summer Time until it is in fact European time all round.
From the replies that have been received to the questionnaire which the noble Viscount mentioned, I think we have a little way to go yet. I had in mind to put this summary of replies in your Lordships' Library for your Lordships' information, but I want to draw attention to the fact that the bodies mentioned are not necessarily in order of importance or of the number of people they represent in the country. That position has been weighed up by my right honourable friend. All the farmers' unions were, of course, circulated, and their replies will be seen in the summary. It was certain that my noble friend Lord 708 Saltoun would make remarks dealing with Scotland, and, of course, what he says is quite true. Nevertheless, there will be the extra daylight hours in the evening when probably more harvesting can be done with the dew off the corn for a little longer than would have been the case under the existing time.

LORD SALTOUN
The trouble is that all the entertainments in the neighbourhood are early, and you cannot keep the men on the harvest.

EARL BATHURST
That is certainly what the National Union of Agricultural Workers considered, and it is a valid argument, if one comes to think of it. Nevertheless, there will be overtime rates to go in it, and I think the noble Lord will find that, by and large, his situation will not be too bad. He must think of himself alongside the European farmers, who have even less daylight to carry out their work than people in the North of Scotland. I will put this summary of the questionnaire in your Lordships' Library. With regard to airline pilots' watches, I understand that Greenwich Mean Time is in fact the time used in all the Central European air routes. When coming to England passengers alter their watches plus or minus as the case may be.