Matrimonial Homes and Property Bill [H.L.] (Hansard, 7 April 1981)

§ Lord Simon of Glaisdale
My Lords, I beg to move that this Bill be read a third time. In view of the fact that I have got three very minor amendments I will, with your Lordships' permission, postpone the few general words I have to say about this Bill until the Motion, That the Bill do now pass. I beg to move that the Bill be now read a third time.

§ The Lord Chancellor
My Lords, perhaps I should say, both in connection with Amendment No. 1 and in connection with the following two amendments, that the Government advise the acceptance of all three.

§ Lord Elwyn-Jones
My Lords, we do on this side, too.

§ Lord Simon of Glaisdale
My Lords, I beg to move that the Bill do now pass. The great Victorian solicitor, Edwyn Field, used to say that those who dwell in and by the House of the Law should consider that they hold on a repairing lease. I have spent most of my adult life in and by the House of the Law, so I was gratified when my noble and learned friend who sits on the Woolsack yet again suggested that I might sponsor in your Lordships' House a Law Commission Bill. The previous one passed in one Session and very much hope that this may do so.
I do not claim, and have never claimed, that this is a major act of renovation of the law. The credit for that in this field belongs to the late Lady Summerskill and my noble and learned friend Lord Gardiner. But it does patch up parts which time has disclosed can be improved, and I hope that your Lordships will feel it is useful. I am most grateful for the encouragement that I have had in its passing.
Nor can I claim that this is the most important of the three Bills that were drafted by the Law Commission and annexed to their third report on family property. On the contrary, it is really the most minor and proved quite uncontroversial. To my mind, the most important is the Bill that I had the honour to introduce last Session, that I withdrew at the request of my noble and learned friend on the Woolsack, so that the Law Commission could reconsider it in the light of a decision of your Lordships' House. I hope that that reconsideration will soon be consummated. I hope that the Bill will be reintroduced, though I am bound to say my own view is that it ought to be a Government Bill. But, in the meantime, I commend this present Bill to your Lordships. My Lords, I beg to move.

§ Lord Mishcon
My Lords, the noble and learned Lord has spoken with typical modesty, which is much beloved in this House, because it is associated so much with his name, as he has piloted this Bill to its first port of call. We on this side most certainly wish that it should go with all speed for the rest of its voyage into another place and on to the Statute Book.
I am going to take from the noble and learned Lord the Lord Chancellor my mission tonight, because on the Second Reading he made two remarks very pithily. The first was: Our view is that this should become the law with as little discussion as possible". His second very pithy remark, in order to discourage 518 any amendments that might be put down by those who appear to love to put down amendments— and I plead guilty, at least, to participating in that extremely interesting game— was: After all, the drafting has been done by an expert and there should be no controversy about it".— [Official Report, 9/3/81; col. 63.] So the less I say tonight the better, except that I thought, again, that it was typical of the noble and learned Lord that he should pay tribute to, first, the memory of my noble friend the late Lady Summerskill and, secondly, to the work that was done— not only in this connection, but in regard to law reform, too— by my noble and learned friend Lord Gardiner who is in his place tonight.
This is a good Bill. It may be a modest Bill in regard to family law, but it does some very fine things. It reforms the law in regard to occupation; it gives power to our divorce courts to deal with the very necessary matter of sale of the matrimonial home; it gets over the difficulty in regard to trustees who might own a house, too, and it therefore gives very valuable rights, especially to the wife of a marriage which has, unfortunately, gone to pieces.
For doing this job and for piloting the Bill, we are all very grateful to the noble and learned Lord, who has shown distinct courage in this field, supported in the past by a most distinguished career in family law, for which my profession is undoubtedly grateful. Those are the only observations that I have to make, beyond repeating that one wishes this Bill well in its future course.

§ The Lord Chancellor
My Lords, before we part with this Bill, I should like to add my word of gratitude to my noble and learned friend on the Cross-Benches to those of the noble Lord, Lord Mishcon. I can honestly say that if he had not undertaken this labour and pursued it with such industry and such skill, we could never have hoped to get it through this Session. As it is, it is at the mercy of another place, but I sincerely hope that no dissentient voice will be heard when it goes on its voyage. I hope that it may receive a fair wind and unruffled waters.