§ Mr. Joseph Deanasked the Secretary of State for the Environment why Section 28(6) of the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976, which has now been published, does not contain the amendment passed by the House of Lords on 11th November 1976, which would have imposed time limits within which local authorities must notify their decisions in applications for rehousing under that Act.
§ Mr. ArmstrongOwing to a mistake on the proceedings on the Bill the amendment to which my hon. Friend refers was not incorporated into the text of the Bill to which Royal Assent was given. It thus does not appear in the Act. We have, however, asked local authorities, in our circular on the Act, to notify their decisions within three months of receiving the applications or, if advice has been sought from an agricultural dwelling-house advisory committee, within two months of receipt of that advice. This is what the amendment would have required local authorities to do.