§ 5.42 p.m.
§ Order of the Day for the Third Reading read.
EARL ST. ALDWYNMy Lords, I have it in command from Her Majesty the Queen to signify to the House that Her Majesty, having been informed of the purport of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Bill, has consented to place Her Majesty's interest so far as it is concerned on behalf of the Crown, the Duchy of Lancaster and the Duchy of Cornwall, at the disposal of Parliament for the purpose of this Bill.
THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD (EARL WALDEGRAVE)My Lords, I beg to move this Bill be now read a third time.
§ Moved, That the Bill be now read 3a.—(Earl Waldegrave.)
§ On Question, Bill read 3a, with the Amendments.
§ Clause 1 [Prohibition of use of land as caravan site without site licence]:
EARL WALDEGRAVEMy Lords, I regret that it should be necessary for me to move four Amendments at this stage. I can assure your Lordships that they involve no change of substance in the Bill, to which we have given careful and prolonged consideration, and that they are only minor drafting points. Your Lordships will appreciate that not only have we made very considerable Amendments to this Bill while it has been in this House, but that we have been working to an unavoidably tight time schedule, which has placed a heavy burden on the draftsmen to keep pace with us. I beg to move the first Amendment standing in my name on the Order Paper.
§
Amendment moved—
Page 2, line 13, leave out ("purpose") and insert ("purposes").—(Earl Waldegrave.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
577§ Clause 45 [Notices under sections 30 and 33 of Act of 1947]:
§
Amendment moved—
Page 29, line 45, after first ("and") insert ("subject to the provisions of that Schedule").—(Earl Waldegrave.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ Clause 47 [Interpretation, transitional provisions, and extent]:
§
Amendment moved—
Page 30, line 24, after ("thirty-six") insert ("and section forty").—(Earl Waldegrave.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ Third Schedule [Enforcement of notices under sections 30 and 33 of Act of 1947]:
§
Amendment moved—
Page 39, line 17, leave out ("section") and insert ("paragraph").—(Earl Waldegrave.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
EARL WALDEGRAVEMy Lords, I do not wish to detain your Lordships for more than a few moments in moving that the Bill do now pass, for we have already devoted many hours, including two days in Committee, to a detailed yet wide-ranging examination of the Bill. Our time has been well spent and our discussions have proved very fruitful. Since the Bill was received in your Lordships' House it has gained several new clauses and two new Schedules, and has been improved in many other respects; but our discussions have, I believe, contributed even more than the amendments which now appear in black and white in the Bill.
The interest which so many noble Lords have shown in some of the wider issues—and I have in mind particularly the need for the strictest control over the exercise of compulsory purchase powers and the importance of safeguarding the green belts, National Parks and other places of natural beauty—will be widely shared outside this House. What has been said in these discussions will, I am sure, carry great weight with all those who will have the task of administering this Bill when it becomes an Act.
578 I hope I may be permitted to say how greatly we are all indebted to a number of noble Lords for the work that they have put in and the help that they have given. We were indeed fortunate in having the noble Lord, Lord Silkin, with us throughout our deliberations on this Bill, and I wish he could have been here at this moment. His knowledge of this subject is unrivalled, and the part he played throughout our discussions has been both courteous and constructive. The noble Viscount, Lord Gage, probably knows as much about the theory and practice of local government as anyone in the country, and his contributions have been most valuable. Points of interest to those concerned with National Parks and the preservation of the countryside, have been most carefully and cogently argued by several noble Lords, including the noble Lord, Lord Birkett. And a number of Scottish Peers have been of great assistance to us on the parts of this Bill which affect their country. My Lords, I beg to move that this Bill do now pass.
§ Moved, That the Bill do now pass.—(Earl Waldegrave.)
VISCOUNT GAGEMy Lords, as one who was almost unsuccessful in getting any of the precise suggestions I put forward adopted in the Bill, I should like to pay my tribute to the great courtesy with which all our Amendments were examined, not only by the noble Earl, Lord Waldegrave, who is not the Minister responsible in the Department itself, but also by my noble and learned friend the Lord Chancellor and the Department itself. I do not know whether it is the sort of thing that the noble Earl wishes, but it does encourage one to try again.
§ THE EARL OF LUCANMy Lords, may I say, on behalf of my noble friend Lord Silkin, that he had hoped to be here this evening but has had to leave to go to another appointment elsewhere.
§ On Question, Bill passed and returned to the Commons.