§ The LORD CHANCELLOR (Lord Elwyn-Jones)My Lords, I beg to move that this Bill be now read a second time. Your Lordships will have noticed that, like the four Bills which will follow, it is a Consolidation Bill. It is one part of the massive consolidation of the enactments relating to National Insurance and social security dealt with in the five Bills, and the sheer bulk of the operation may be judged by the volumes which I hold in my hand. It is the main Bill for Great Britain and it consolidates the remaining parts of the National Insurance Acts 1965 to 1974 and the relevant provisions in the National Insurance (Industrial Injuries) Acts 1965 to 1974, the Social Security Act 1973 and the Social Security Amendment Act 1974.
If your Lordships agree, each of these Bills will be referred in the usual way to the Joint Committee on Consolidation Bills for their detailed examination, and I should like to take this opportunity of saying how much I—and I believe that here I speak on behalf of the House generally—appreciate the invaluable work done by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Simon of Glaisdale, and his Committee. I am extremely grateful to them for their contribution to the continuing task of tidying up the Statute Book and 669 maintaining the impetus of law reform. My Lords, I beg to move.
§ Moved, That the Bill be now read 2a.—(The Lord Chancellor.)
§ On Question, Bill read 2a and referred to the Joint Committee on Consolidation Bills.