§ 3.15 p.m.
§ Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee read.
§ Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee.—(Lord Shepherd.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.
§ House in Committee accordingly.
§ [The LORD MERTHYR in the Chair.]
§ Clause 1: [Amendment of s.39(3)(b) of Films Act 1960]:
§
LORD SHEPHERD moved, at the beginning of Clause 1, to insert:
(1) Section 39 of the Films Act 1960 (which provides for the registration of newsreels under Part II of that Act) shall be amended, in relation to applications for registration made after the end of September 1964 and to films registered in pursuance of such applications, in accordance with the following provisions of this section.
§ The noble Lord said: The Committee may remember that in moving the Second Reading of this short Bill I recommended it to your Lordships' House as a useful Bill, saying that it would make a considerable difference for the film producers of newsreels and would give more opportunity to the cinema-goer to see newsreels of events taken outside the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. This is a Bill that received support from the producers, from the trade unions and from the Government, and when I moved the Second Reading I did not anticipate any difficulty. I therefore feel I must apologise for having to place twelve Amendments before the Committee this afternoon, but this is due to the drafting requirements of the Minister. May I thank the Minister very much indeed for the assistance that he has given in this matter?
§ Amendment No. 1, which I now move, is intended to take account of the fact that the undertakings which the producers have to give when making applications for the registration of newsreels relate to the newsreels registered in a quarterly period. Section 39(4) of the Films Act, 1960, provides for the cancellation of any registration if any of the obligations in Section 39 are not 574 fulfilled. We feel—and we agree with the Government here—that in view of Section 39(4) of the Films Act, 1960, it is necessary to put into this Bill a date from which the Bill will come into operation and films can be registered. This and the other Amendments can, I think, be taken as drafting. I beg to move.
§ Amendment moved—
§ Page 1, line 5, at the beginning insert the said subsection.—(Lord Shepherd.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ LORD SHEPHERDThis Amendment is consequential. I beg to move.
§ Amendment moved—
§ Page 1, line 5, leave out from ("(3)") to ("the") in line 6.—(Lord Shepherd.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ LORD SHEPHERDThis is a drafting Amendment. I beg to move.
§ Amendment moved—
§ Page 1, line 7, leave out from ("than") to ("comprised") in line 8 and insert ("three-quarters of the total of the photographs.)."—(Lord Shepherd.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ LORD SHEPHERDThis Amendment is to correct a printing error. I beg to move.
§ Amendment moved—
§ Page 1, line 8, leave out ("newsreel") and insert ("newsreels").—(Lord Shepherd.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ LORD SHEPHERDThis is another drafting Amendment. I beg to move.
§ Amendment moved—
§ Page 1, line 10, after ("taken") insert ("as follows, that is to say—
- (i) at least one-half of that total").—(Lord Shepherd.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ LORD SHEPHERDThis is a further drafting Amendment. I beg to move.
§ Amendment moved—
§ Page 1, line 12, leave out from ("Ireland") to ("by") in line 14, and insert ("(ii) the remainder (if any).").—(Lord Shepherd.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ LORD SHEPHERDI beg to move the next Amendment.
§ Amendment moved—
§ Page 1, line 16, leave out from ("was") to end of line 18 and insert ("employed by the maker of the newsreels as a regular member of his staff in the United Kingdom.")—(Lord Shepherd.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ LORD SHEPHERDThis also is a drafting Amendment. I beg to move.
§ Amendment moved—
§
Page 1, line 18, at end insert—
("(3) At the end of the section the following shall be added:—
Section 50(1) of this Act shall have effect in relation to a newsreel as if in the definition of 'maker' the word 'editing' were substituted for the word 'making'.").—(Lord Shepherd.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ Clause 1, as amended, agreed to.
§ Clause 2 [Definition of "Maker"]:
§ LORD SHEPHERDThis is a drafting Amendment. I beg to move.
§
Amendment moved—
Leave out Clause 2.—(Lord Shepherd.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ LORD SHEPHERDThis, too, is a drafting Amendment. I beg to move.
§
Amendment moved—
Leave out Clause 3.—(Lord Shepherd.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ Clause 4 [Citation]:
§ LORD SHEPHERDThis is a further drafting Amendment. I beg to move.
§ Amendment moved—
§ Page 2, line 4, leave out ("(Amendment)").—(Lord Shepherd.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ LORD SHEPHERDThis Amendment is to exclude Northern Ireland from the provisions of the Bill. May I apologise once again to the Committee and to you, my Lord Chairman? I beg to move.
§ Amendment moved—
§
Page 2, line 4, at end insert ("and this Act and the Films Act 1960 may be cited together as the Films Acts 1960 and 1964.
(2) This Act does not extend to Northern Ireland.").—(Lord Shepherd.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ Remaining clause, as amended, agreed to.
§ House resumed: Bill reported, with Amendments.