HL Deb 04 August 1966 vol 276 cc1481-4

4.16 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 Archibald.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.

House in Committee accordingly.

[The LORD STRANG in the Chair.]

Clause 1 [Abolition of certificates in suspense]:

LORD ARCHIBALD moved, at the beginning of subsection (1), to insert "Subject to subsection (2) of this section,". The noble Lord said: In moving Amendment No. 1 standing in my name, I think it will be for the convenience of the Committee if I take the whole group of Amendments together because they have a single purpose. They form the proposal to amend the Bill of which I gave notice at Second Reading. The purpose of the Amendments is to remove an inequity between one certificate holder and another to which our attention has been drawn by the Glasgow District Licensed Trade Defence Association. There are two events involved in the issue of a certificate in suspense following compulsory acquisition of the premises. There is the compulsory acquisition and there is then the discontinuance of business resulting there from. Where, for example, the local authority does not immediately require the whole of the block of premises that it has acquired for development, there may be quite a long interval between these two events and the business continues in operation in premises acquired by the local authority. Where the premises were acquired and business discontinued before the Bill becomes an Act, the compulsory acquisition com- pensation will have taken into account the certificate holder's right to a certificate in suspense and he will be able to exercise that right for what it may be worth. Where the premises are acquired after this Bill becomes an act the certificate holder will have no right to a certificate in suspense; so no account need be taken of any such right in assessing compensation.

The inequity occurs, as the Bill is at present drafted, in the case where assessment has already been made, or is being made, on the assumption of a right to a certificate in suspense but, because the business will still be carrying on when the Bill becomes law, that right will disappear before it can be exercised. It seems only fair that if compensation took into account that right the certificate holder should be able to exercise it. I must confess there is a difficulty here. If the Committee decides, as I hope it will, to make this Amendment to the Bill it will add some months to the time the Bill will take to become law since Private Members' time must be found in another place to consider Amendments made by your Lordships' House in Committee.

If we preserved the right to a certificate of everyone whose premises were compulsorily acquired before the Bill became an Act, we should be adding a not inconsiderable number to the certificates in suspense which would be in existence during the five-year period under Clause 1(2). I have had a suggestion put to me which would avoid this difficulty; it is to insert to-day's date in the Amendment. The effect of this is that any certificate holder whose premises were compulsorily acquired on or before this date, and whose assessment for compensation will take account of his right to a certificate in suspense, will still have a right to a certificate in suspense. But anyone whose premises are compulsorily acquired after to-day's date will not have a right to a certificate in suspense, once the Bill becomes an Act, and for any assessment for compensation which the valuers of the Inland Revenue Department make, whether in the next few months or after the Act comes into force, they will, I am assured, be able to take this fact into account.

Since I am now touching on the complex field of compulsory acquisition the Amendments may seem a little mysterious to your Lordships. I hope that your Lordships will not press me with questions about this aspect of the Amendments, for I must admit that I should very soon be out of my depth. But I can say two things to your Lordships. The first is that the Amendments refer to the time of service of the notice to treat, because that is the critical point of time for the assessment of compensation for compulsory acquisition. The amount of compensation is assessed in the light of all the circumstances at the time of notice to treat, and it is therefore thought appropriate that this date should apply to that stage of the proceedings. The second point that I have to make is that I have sought expert advice and have been advised that these Amendments will have the effect that I have described to your Lordships. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 1, line 5, at beginning insert ("Subject to subsection (2) of this section,").—(Lord Archibald.)

LORD DRUMALBYN

I am bound to say that I find some difficulty in understanding the proposition put to us by the noble Lord, Lord Archibald. If I understand the noble Lord aright, he is saying that if he makes a manuscript addition—is this so?—to this Amendment he is now moving, one set of circumstances will follow; but if he inserts the date, he has a proposition. What is the proposition?

LORD ARCHIBALD

The date is printed in the Amendment.

LORD DRUMALBYN

I see, I am obliged to the noble Lord. I thought he was making a fresh proposition over and above what is here.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

LORD ARCHIBALD

I beg to move Amendment No. 2.

Amendment moved— Page 1, line 11, leave out ("sections 88(1) and") and insert ("section 88(1) and, subject as aforesaid, the said section").—(Lord Archibald.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

LORD ARCHIBALD

I beg to move Amendment No. 3.

Amendment moved—

Page 1, line 12, at end insert— ("() Where a notice to treat has been served or has, by virtue of paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 6 to the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1945, been deemed to have been served on any person in respect of the compulsory acquisition of licensed premises on or before the 4th day of August 1966, nothing in the foregoing subsection shall preclude the Commissioners of Customs and Excise from giving a certificate under section 96(1) of the principal Act for the suspension of the certificate for the sale by retail of exciseable liquor granted in respect of those premises.").—(Lord Archibald.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

LORD ARCHIBALD

I beg to move Amendment No. 4.

Amendment moved— Page 1, line 18, after ("Act") insert ("or which becomes suspended under the said section 96 by virtue of subsection (2) of this section").—(Lord Archibald.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Clause 1, as amended, agreed to.

Remaining clauses agreed to.

House resumed: Bill reported, with Amendments.