§ 8.55 p.m.
§ Amendments reported (according to Order).
§ Clause 11 [Restriction on proceedings]:
§ VISCOUNT SIMONMy Lords, I apologise that this Amendment should be put forward at this very late stage. But it was only recently observed that Clause 11, which provides that prosecutions under this Bill and under the principal Act require the permission either of the Attorney General or of the river board, is not strictly appropriate for prosecutions under Clause 12, which was introduced at a later stage after the Bill had been originally drafted. The intention of this Amendment is simply to provide that the requirements of Clause 11 shall apply to prosecutions under the principal Act, or under the earlier Part of this Bill, but not under the subsequent part—that is to say, not to prosecutions under Clause 12. It would be quite inappropriate to require the approval of the river board when in fact the person prosecuted under Clause 12, if there was one, would probably be a servant of the river board. I beg to move
§
Amendment moved—
Page 11, line 33, after ("or") insert ("the foregoing provisions of").—(Viscount Simon.)
THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT (EARL JELLICOE)My Lords, I am sure my noble friend will be glad to learn, and your Lordships may be interested to know, that this Amendment is acceptable to the Government.
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
767§ Clause 12 [Restriction of disclosure of information]:
§ VISCOUNT SIMONMy Lords, these next five Amendments, Nos. 2 to 6, all hang together, and between them they constitute the Amendment to Clause 12 which I undertook to the noble Lord, Lord Balfour of Inchrye, during the Committee stage, we would endeavour to bring forward. Your Lordships will remember that the noble Lord introduced an Amendment to Clause 12 which I had to advise the Committee was unacceptable to the Promoters of the Bill. I gave the noble Lord an undertaking that we would confer with all the interests concerned and try to find an agreed Amendment. The noble Lord has asked me to express his regret that he cannot be here to-day, but to inform your 'Lordships that he is in agreement with this Amendment, which has also been agreed Ito by the fishing interests, the Salmon and Trout Association, the Anglers' Co-operative Association and, on the other side, by the Federation of British Industries and the River Boards' Association.
The effect, briefly, is that information which might relate to industrial processes and which could be gained from applications for consent or from the sampling of effluents from a works are protected against being passed over to third parties. Information which is obtained from routine sampling, let us say, of the condition of the water in the river, which might be of interest and importance to neighbouring landowners and fishermen, can be passed on without fear of prosecution. I beg to move the first Amendment in the group.
§
Amendment moved—
Page 12, line 1, after ("information") insert ("(i)").—(Viscount Simon.)
EARL JELLICOEMy Lords, I am really in a position of saying "ditto". The Government are very happy about this Amendment, too. If I may, I should like to take this opportunity of congratulating my two noble friends on the satisfactory compromise agreement which they have managed to produce.
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ VISCOUNT SIMONMy Lords, I beg to move No. 3.
§
Amendment moved—
Page 12, line 2, leave out ("the execution of") and insert ("an application for consent, or the imposition of conditions, under").—(Viscount Simon.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ VISCOUNT SIMONMy Lords, I beg to move—
§ Amendment moved—
§
Page 12, line 3, after second ("Act") insert ("(including the variation of conditions, and references and applications to the Minister); or
(ii) which is derived from a sample of effluent taken for the purposes of this Act or the principal Act,").—(Viscount Simon.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ VISCOUNT SIMONMy Lords, I beg to move—
§
Amendment moved—
Page 12, line 6, after ("obtained") insert ("or, in the case of information derived from a sample of effluent, of the person making the discharge in question").—(Viscount Simon.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ VISCOUNT SIMONMy Lords, I beg to move.
§ Amendment moved—
§
Page 12, line 17, at end insert—
("(3) Nothing in this section shall prevent the discosure of information derived from a sample of the waters into which an effluent is discharged.").—(Viscount Simon.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ Then, Standing Order No. 41 having been suspended (pursuant to the Resolution of July 13), Bill read 3a, with the Amendments, and passed, and returned to the Commons.