Clause 51 - Financial penalties
Water Bill [Lords]
11:00 am
Mr Bill Wiggin (Leominster, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 85, in
clause 51, page 65, leave out lines 2 to 5.
The amendment would clarify the wording in the Bill. The clause states:
''If the whole or any part of a penalty is not paid by the date by which it is required to be paid, the unpaid balance from time to time shall carry interest at the rate for the time being specified in section 17 of the Judgments Act 1838.''
I suspect that that is normal, but it seems to be a little draconian in relation to what we are dealing with. It is not a question of a court case, but how the authority shall behave. I do not know if anyone has ever been forced to pay an unpaid balance at the interest rate specified in section 17 of the 1838 Act. It is an interest rate very different from the one that the Chancellor will no doubt be trumpeting this afternoon. I suspect that the provision is unduly harsh, which is why I sought to have it withdrawn.