HL Deb 25 July 1974 vol 353 cc1891-2

[Nos. 48 to 56]:

Clause 43, page 23, line 14, at end insert 'or

(c) a business which comprises or relates to unregulated agreements where—

(i) the proper law of the agreement is the law of a country outside the United Kingdom, and

(ii) if the proper law of the agreement were the law of a part of the United Kingdom it would be a regulated agreement',

Clause 45, page 24, line 5, leave out from 'not' to end of line 11 and insert 'holding himself out as prepared to sell the goods or provide the services (as the case may be) for cash, the advertiser commits an offence'.

Clause 48, page 25, line 2, leave out 'his employee or agent' and insert 'that other individual'.

Clause 49, page 25, line 27, leave out 'granting credit in the form of a right of' and insert 'enabling'.

Clause 49, page 25,line 35, leave out '(b)' and insert '(a)'.

Clause 49, page 25,line 39, leave out from 'debtors' to end of line 41.

Clause 49, page 25,line 44, leave out '(b)' and insert '(a)'.

Clause 50, page 26, line 2, leave out from 'to' to 'a'.

Clause 50, page 26,line 9, leave out subsection (2) and insert—

'(1A) In proceedings under subsection (1) in respect of the sending of a document to a minor, it is a defence for the person charged to prove that he did not know, and had no reasonable cause to suspect, that he was a minor.

(2) Where a document is received by a minor at any school or educational establishment for minors, a person sending it to him at that establishment knowing or suspecting it to be such an establishment shall be taken to have reasonable cause to suspect that he is a minor'.

LORD JACQUES

My Lords, Part IV of the Bill is concerned with the seeking of business. The Amendments to Part IV include one Amendment in which this House has a particular interest. It is the circulation of minors. Section 50 has been amended to deal with the situation where a person unwittingly sends a circular to a minor or to a school in contravention of the provisions of this clause. The combined effect of the Amendments, together with the new subsection in Clause 172, is to provide a sound defence for anybody who genuinely sends a circular soliciting credit facilities to a minor without realising that he is a minor; but they leave the onus of proving this firmly on the sender.

My Lords, I beg to move that this House doth agree with the Commons in their Amendments Nos. 48 to 56.

Moved, That this House doth agree with the Commons in the said Amendments.—(Lord Jacques.)

LORD ABERDARE

My Lords, once again I am grateful to the noble Lord. It was my noble friend Lady Young who brought up the matter in circularising minors at the Committee stage, and I know that she will be very pleased to see that this is now dealt with in the Bill.

On Question, Motion agreed to.