ARCHITECTS REGISTRATION (AMENDMENT) BILL (Hansard, 24 July 1969)

§ LORD LLEWELYN-DAVIES
My Lords, I beg to move that the House do now resolve itself into Committee on this Bill.

§ LORD BELSTEAD
On Second Reading, the noble Lord, Lord Llewelyn-Davies, told the House that Section 14 of the Architects (Registration) Act 1931 obliged the Architects' Registration Council to devote 50 per cent. of its fees to a scholarships and grants fund. The noble Lord further said that the benefits of the Education Act 1944 so reduced the calls on this fund that substantial sums had accumulated, which I entirely accept has been unavoidable. 1079 For this reason, Clause 2 will repeal Section 14 of the 1931 Act. I wonder whether the noble Lord could give us further information now about the sums of money which have hitherto accumulated in this fund?

§ LORD LLEWELYN-DAVIES
I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Belstead, for asking this question, which gives me an opportunity to give your Lordships a little more information than I gave the House on July 8. The sums to which he referred, which have been accumulating under the Act as it now stands, have risen steadily since the year 1935, and particularly, of course, since the passage of the Education Act 1944. In 1968, which is the last date for which information is available to me, they amounted to almost £72, 000. This may seem a comparatively small sum when compared with others which have been in our minds recently, such as the cost of placing a man upon the moon. But in relation to the sums which we have to spend on promoting education and research in architecture, they are substantial and useful, and one of the benefits of the Bill now before your Lordships is that they would be freed for use in constructive and valuable ways.

§ LORD BELSTEAD
I thank the noble Lord for the information which he has kindly given, which strengthens further the arguments in favour of this Bill which has received support on all sides of both Houses.