HL Deb 28 April 1969 vol 301 cc656-8

3.27 p.m.

LORD LINDGREN

I beg to move that the Report be now received.

Moved, That the Report be received.—(Lord Lindgren.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.

Clause 1 [Amendment of Act of 1963 c. 2]:

LORD LINDGREN moved Amendment No. 1:

Page 1, line 6, leave out from ("effect") to end of line 7 and insert ("as if in paragraph (3)(a) of Schedule 5, after the words 'six per cent' there were inserted the words 'or such other percentage as may be specified in an order made by the Secretary of State by statutory instrument' and as if at the end of paragraph 3 of that Schedule there were inserted the following:— 'Any power conferred by this paragraph to make an order shall include power to vary or revoke the order by subsequent order."")

The noble Lord said: My Lords, if your Lordships would agree, I think it would be for the convenience of the House for all three Amendments to be taken together in one speech, because they are very much related. Your Lord-ships will doubtless remember that the original Bill as presented dealt with only two simple points. The first was the 104 licensing days for each track and the possibility of those licensing days being varied even within one licensing authority. The second point was to give power to the Home Secretary to vary the fixed 6 per cent. deduction from the takings of the Tote. On the Second Reading of the Bill my noble friend Lord Stonham gave it sympathetic consideration but indicated that on both those points Amendments were desirable. I did my best on the Committee stage with regard to the point concerning the licensing of tracks for 104 days of racing, but my noble friend was not satisfied with the Amendment and indicated that he would probably have to oppose it at Report stage if it were not withdrawn. I willingly withdrew that Amendment and my noble friend accepted the Amendment in regard to the power to vary the 6 per cent. deduction from the Tote takings.

In view of what my noble friend Lord Stonham said on the Committee stage these three Amendments have been put down to simplify the Bill, to eradicate all reference to the licensing of the tracks on the 104 days and to concentrate on the power for the Home Secretary to revoke the 6 per cent. deduction from the Tote takings. Therefore, the first two Amendments on the Marshalled List remove all reference to the 104 licensing days, re-model the Bill—and I feel it is desirable that the Bill should be remodelled—and simply give the Home Secretary the power to which I have already referred, of varying or revoking the 6 per cent. deduction. Amendment No. 3 brings the Title of the Bill into correct perspective in relation to the purpose of the Bill. I beg to move.

VISCOUNT GOSCHEN

My Lords, my noble friend Lord Sandford, who has been speaking on this Bill on our behalf, is unable to be here to-day, but I have discussed the matter with him and we support the Amendments that the noble Lord, Lord Lindgren, has now put down.

LORD STONHAM

My Lords, I am very grateful to my noble friend Lord Lindgren for proposing these Amendments, which have the effect of removing from the Bill the provisions relating to the fixing of betting days, leaving in the Bill only the provision enabling the Secretary of State to vary by Order the permitted deduction from the totalisator receipts on dog racing tracks, which at present stands at 6 per cent. In the Bill as it now stands there are two principles embodied: first, the one to which I have just referred, and, second, the one which would have enabled individual tracks to have their racing days on different days. To that proposition the Government have no objection in principle, but, as I explained to your Lordships during the Committee stage, the Amendments in the Bill by which it was proposed to achieve this were not satisfactory, and we saw no way of making them so. Therefore, I am very glad that my noble friend has moved these Amendments to delete these proposals, because it leaves the Bill in a form which is in principle acceptable to the Government, and I hope to the House; that is, perhaps I had better say, subject to final scrutiny. Subject to that final scrutiny, we believe that it may well go on to the Statute Book without further amendment. If it does, then it will provide a necessary, and I think a just, alleviation of the conditions under which these tracks are now operating. Of course, it is not for your Lordships' House to give any guarantee of success in another place, but I believe that if these Amendments are accepted the Bill will have a reasonable chance of going on the Statute Book even at this stage of the Session.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

Schedule [Amendments of Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963]:

LORD LINDGREN

My Lords, this Amendment is consequential. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Leave out the Schedule.—(Lord Lindgren.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

LORD LINDGREN

My Lords, this Amendment is again consequential. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— In the Title, line 2, leave out ("the fixing of betting days at licensed tracks; and to empower the Secretary of State to alter").—(Lord Lindgren.)

On Question, Amendment agreed to.