§ 2.58 p.m.
§ BARONESS TWEEDSMUIR OF BELHELVIEMy Lords, I beg to move that the House do now resolve itself into Committee on recommitment of this Bill. Before the House goes into Committee, I should inform your Lordships that this is a pure Consolidation Bill, which has been amended by the Joint Committee on Consolidation Bills. Although it is 13 a Consolidation Bill, as it is also a Scottish Bill it falls to me to have charge of it in the House. Your Lordships may remember that the noble and learned Lord the Lord Chancellor, who takes charge of English Consolidation Bills, undertook to inform the House of the category into which a particular Consolidation Bill fitted and to draw the attention of the House to the Joint Committee's Report. The undertaking appears in the Second Report from the Procedure Committee which was agreed to by the House last Tuesday. I am glad to confirm that the same practice will be adopted in regard to Scottish Bills.
In their Report, the Joint Committee on Consolidation Bills draw two points to the attention of the House. In the first, they correct an anomaly which arose as a result of an omission in the amending provisions of the Rent Act 1965 by inserting the words "or receiving" in Clause 103(1). The effect of the Amendment is to equate the legal position of a person who receives a premium with a person who requires the payment of a premium in the circumstances set out in Section 29(1) of the Housing (Repairs and Rents) (Scotland) Act 1954. In the second, they extend permissive functions of local authorities existing in certain of the enactments being consolidated to the whole of the legislation consolidated in the Bill. Subject to these points, the Committee are of the opinion that the Bill is pure consolidation and represents the existing law.
§ Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee on Recommitment.—(Baroness Tweedsmiiir of Belhelvie.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.
§ House in Committee (on Recommitment) accordingly.
§ [The EARL OF LISTOWEL in the Chair.]
THE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEESThis Bill has been amended by the Joint Committee on Consolidation Bills, and there is a further Amendment to be moved in Committee this afternoon. I shall therefore go through the Bill in the usual way.
§ Clauses 1 to 136 agreed to.
§ Schedules 1 to 12 agreed to.
§ Schedule 13 [Restriction on rent increases]:
14
§
BARONESS TWEEDSMUIR OF BELHELVIE moved the following Amendment:
Page 115, line 33, leave out ("seven-shillings and sixpence") and insert ("37½p ').
§ The noble Baroness said: This is a technical Amendment and is necessary to convert the amount at present shown to its equivalent in decimal currency. It arises at this stage because, when the Bill was before the Joint Committee on Consolidation Bills in January, the fact that the Bill would not be passed mid after Decimalisation Day, February 15, was overlooked. Perhaps your Lordships will be glad to know that 37½p are in fact exactly 7s. 6d. I beg to move.
§ LORD HUGHESI notice that by the Amendment as printed the noble Baroness not only takes out "seven shillings and sixpence" which appears in the Bill, but also takes out a hyphen which does not.
§ On Question Amendment agreed to.
§ Schedule 13, as amended, agreed to.
§ Schedules 14 to 20 agreed to.
§ Title agreed to.
§ House resumed: Bill reported with the Amendments.