§ 20. Mr. Willisasked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he proposes to take steps to consolidate Scottish town and country planning legislation.
§ Mr. MaclayI cannot yet say when it may be possible to undertake this task.
§ 21. Mr. Willisasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what consideration he has given to the Report of the Faculty of Advocates on the Town and Country Planning Bill, 1958, a copy of which has been sent to him; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MaclayThe following is a copy of a letter I have sent to the Dean of Faculty containing my observations on this report.
28th January, 1959.On 18th December, at the request of the Faculty of Advocates, you circulated to Scottish Members of Parliament a Memorandum adopted by the Faculty on the form of the Town and Country Planning Bill at present before the House of Commons. The Memorandum explained in some detail the inconvenience that would result for Scottish legal practitioners from the absence of separate Scottish legislation on this subject.I should be grateful if you would assure the Faculty that, in considering the best form of legislation to promote in any particular case, the Government always give the fullest consideration to the special requirements which arise out of the Scottish legal system, and invariably take into account the convenience of those who will use the resulting Act as well as of those who must debate the Bill. Account must also be taken, however, of such other factors as the need for Scottish Members of Parliament to take part in debate on matters which are common to the whole of the House of Commons, the most effective use of Parliamentary time, and the special position of the Scottish Grand and Standing Committee. The 28W balance of advantage, as between a Great Britain Bill and a separate Scottish Bill, must therefore be a matter of judgment based on the circumstances of the particular measure under consideration, especially where parallel provisions applying in England and Scotland respectively are involved and common principles apply.As regards the Town and Country Planning Bill, I set out at some length the weight attaching to these various factors in the course of the second reading debate in the House of Commons on 13th November last. I acknowledged that consolidation was a task to which early attention should be directed, although this could not be overtaken in time to help those who will have to operate under the Bill as soon as it becomes law. I then went on to give an assurance that the Government would certainly be willing to consider, at the appropriate time, re-enacting the Bill in Scottish form when it reached the Statute Book. That assurance of course stands, and the views of the Faculty have been carefully noted so that full weight can be given to them by the Government in reaching a decision on the question of re-enactment in Scottish form.(Sgd.) JOHN S. MACLAY.The Dean of Faculty,The Advocates' Library,Edinburgh, 1.