FARRIERS (REGISTRATION) BILL

HL Deb 16 May 1975 vol 360 cc1006-7

1.55 p.m.

Lord NEWALL

My Lords, I beg to move that this Bill be now read a third time, and in doing so I should like to thank all those noble Lords who have taken part. Many noble Lords have expressed their support for the Bill, whether they actually spoke or not. Your Lordships will be aware that the Bill was introduced in this House about a year ago, but when it went to another place it was stopped by various political ramifications. I should like to thank the Home Office, who have now learned a great deal more about what goes on in the countryside than perhaps they knew before, and in particular I should like to thank the noble Lord, Lord Wells-Pestell, who is unable to be here today. Also I would thank my noble friend Lord Elton, who did so much to help on the Second Reading. I think it is a very good Bill and I look forward to seeing the benefits of it. I beg to move.

Moved, that the Bill be now read 3^a.—(Lord Newall.)

Lord SANDYS

My Lords, very briefly from this position, I wish to say how much we congratulate the noble Lord on persisting with his measure. Those of us who have introduced Private Members' Bills into your Lordships' House—and I am one of those who has done so—know the difficulty with which one faces the legislative programme, especially in the course of the summer. As the noble Lord has rightly said, he is very much in the debt of those in your Lordships' House for their assistance in this particular regard. The Farriers (Registration) Bill has unfortunately had a difficult passage previously, but it must be a source of great encouragement to those concerned with this particular field to realise that in future the shoeing of horses will be better controlled and the proper shoeing of horses will be a readily available facility for a large number of people in this country. It is possibly not realised how large that number is: it runs into several millions of people who enjoy riding facilities in the course of a year.

Finally, I hope the success of the noble Lord, Lord Newall, will encourage others to introduce measures of similar benefit.

On Question, Bill read 3^a, and passed.