§ 7 p.m.
§ Lord Allen of AbbeydaleMy Lords, I beg to move that the House do now resolve itself into Committee on this Bill.
Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee.—(Lord Allen of Abbeydale.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.
§ House in Committee accordingly.
§ [THE DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES (Lord Murton of Lindisfarne.) in the Chair.]
§ Clauses 1 and 2 agreed to.
§
Lord Allen of Abbeydale moved Amendment No. 1:
In the schedule, page 4, line 1, after ("meaning") insert ("—(a) in England and Wales,").
§ The noble Lord said: In moving Amendment No. 1 I should like to speak at the same time to Amendment No. 2. I gave warning at Second Reading that I should be proposing amendments to meet some Scottish matters. The amendments are all purely technical and do not affect the basic provisions of the Bill.
§ The first and second amendments are needed for the following reasons. Section 43 of the Gaming Act 1968 empowers the Gaming Board to appoint inspectors and gives them rights of entry and inspection in relation to casinos and bingo clubs. Those powers of inspection extend to any document which may be found on licensed premises, but the term "document" is not at present defined. Paragraph 2(7) of the schedule to the Bill seeks to rectify that omission and thereby ensure that there can be no doubt about the extent of the gaming inspectors' powers.
§ The Bill adopts the definition of "document" contained in the Civil Evidence Act 1968. We have now spotted that that means that the definition applies only to England and Wales. In Scottish law the definition of a "document" is to be found in the Civil Evidence (Scotland) Act 1988. Although the definition of a "document" in those two Acts is at present virtually the same, whatever might happen in the future, clearly there ought to be a reference in the Bill to the Scottish provision. The amendment and Amendment No. 2 will secure that. I beg to move.
§ Viscount UllswaterWe welcome these technical amendments which, as the noble Lord, Lord Allen of Abbeydale, has said, simply take account of the fact that the Scots have their own, albeit very similar, definition of a "document".
§ On Question, amendment agreed to.
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§
Lord Allen of Abbeydale moved Amendment No. 2:
In the schedule, page 4, line 3, after ("Act") insert ("; and
(b) In Scotland, as in the Civil Evidence (Scotland) Act 1988 and any reference to a copy of a document shall be construed in accordance with section 6(2) of that Act").
§ On Question, amendment agreed to.
§
Lord Allen of Abbeydale moved Amendment No. 3:
In the Schedule, page 6, line 19 at end insert—
("8A. In paragraph 63(2), for the words "liable under section 21 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1959 to" shall be substituted the word "who".").
§ The noble Lord said: The amendment seeks to remove a reference to a repealed Scottish enactment in paragraph 63(2) of the second schedule to the Gaming Act 1986. That paragraph provides, in Scotland, for gaming licence fees received by the licensing authority to be paid over to the local authority liable under Section 21 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1959 to defray the expenses of the licensing authority. However, the 1959 Act was repealed by the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 and unfortunately that Act failed to pick up the consequential amendment to the Gaming Act. The amendment seeks simply to put right that oversight. I beg to move.
§ Viscount UllswaterAgain, we welcome this minor amendment which seeks simply to remove a reference in the Gaming Act 1968 to a repealed Scottish statute.
§ On Question, amendment agreed to.
§ Schedule, as amended, agreed to.
§ House resumed: Bill reported with amendments.
Viscount LongMy Lords, I beg to move that the House do now adjourn during pleasure until 8 p.m.
Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to.
§ [The Sitting was suspended from 7.6 to 8 p.m.]