§ 80 Page 30, line 11, at end insert the following new Schedule—
§ "PUBLIC INQUIRIES (NOTICES AND PROCEDURES)
§ 1. Where subsection (1) of section 4, subsection (10) of section 5 or subsection (4) of section 11 above apply the Secretary of State shall proceed in accordance with the following provisions of this Schedule.
§ 2. The Secretary of State shall publish a notice that the draft Scheme, the proposal or the draft order (as the case may be) are available, stating where copies may be obtained and specifying a period of 40 days 1029 within which representations may be made to him about the draft Scheme, proposal or draft order.
§ 3. A notice under paragraph 2 above shall be published—
- (a) in the London Gazette, the Edinburgh Gazette, or both, according as the draft Scheme, proposal or draft order relates to ports in England and Wales, Scotland or both; and
- (b) in such local newspapers or in any other ways as appear to the Secretary of State best suited for bringing the notice to the attention of persons interested;
§ 4. The Secretary of State shall not be required to consider any objection which does not comprise, or have submitted with it, a statement in writing setting out the specific ground of the objection and particulars of any omission, addition or modification asked for, or any objection which in his opinion is frivolous.
§ 5. If there are no objections which the Secretary of State is required to consider, or if all such objections are withdrawn—
- (a)in the case of a draft Scheme or order (either in the terms of the draft or subject to such modifications as he thinks fit, being modifications which in his opinion do not effect important alterations in the character of the draft as published), he may lay the Scheme before Parliament or make the order (as the case may be); or
- (b)in the case of a proposal, forward to the Board for their consideration a copy of the report referred to in paragraph 8 below.
§ 6. Before preparing a new Scheme, the Secretary of State may cause an inquiry to be held.
§ 7. Where any objections are made as aforesaid and are not withdrawn, the Secretary of State shall cause an inquiry to be held by an impartial person and, where that inquiry relates to a draft Scheme or order, the Secretary of State may, after considering the report referred to in paragraph 9 below, lay the draft Scheme before Parliament or make the order (as the case may be) in the terms of the draft or subject to such modifications as he thinks fit.
§ 8. Subsections (2) to (5) of section 250 of the Local Government Act 1972 shall apply in relation to an inquiry held under this Schedule as they apply to a local inquiry held under subsection (1) of that subsection with the omission of the word "local" from subsection (4).
1030§ 9. The Secretary of State shall publish the report of the person appointed by him to hold an inquiry for the purposes of this Schedule."
§ The commons disagreed to this Amendment for the following Reason:
§ 81 Because provision for a public inquiry procedure is unnecessary.
§ Lord JACQUESMy Lords, I beg to move that this House doth not insist on their Amendment No. 80, to which the Commons have disagreed for the Reason numbered 81.
§ Moved, That this House doth not insist on the said Amendment to which the Commons have disagreed for the Reason numbered 81.—(Lord Jacques.)
§ Lord SANDFORDMy Lords, I shall not make much of this last Amendment, because we have said everything we wanted to say earlier. But I should like to say, as I have said many times before on this Bill, that I think that the Government have imposed on this House in particular a quite impossible procedure. We have had to go through the Bill in quite inordinate haste, and as a result we have not done our job as well as we should have done. Despite that, and despite what a number of noble Lords have been saying from all around the House in the last few minutes, I think that Parliament as a whole can be well satisfied with the significant achievement that it has secured over this last week in curbing the intentions of the Government, and particularly in protecting the large number of interests that have very rightly felt themselves to be seriously threatened by the Bill.
§ Lord JACQUESMy Lords, I should just like to thank noble Lords in all parts of the House, and particularly noble Lords opposite, for their co-operation in getting on to the Statute Book what I believe is a fair and reasonable compromise of opinion in the two Houses.
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.