Mr Richard Caborn (Minister of State (Sport and Tourism), Department for Culture, Media & Sport; Sheffield Central, Labour)

I beg to move amendment No. 296, in clause 130, page 58, line 28, at end insert

'(za) suspends a personal licence under section 111 (as applied by section 121),'.

Clause 130 specifies that if the commission revokes a personal licence or is informed that the courts had made either a forfeiture order relating to a personal licence or a disqualification order, the commission is under a duty to notify relevant holders of the operating licence. The commission should also be required to inform relevant holders of operating licences if it suspends a personal licence. Government amendment No. 296 rectifies that omission.

Amendment agreed to.

Mr Malcolm Moss (Shadow Minister, Home Affairs; North East Cambridgeshire, Conservative)

I beg to move amendment No. 262, in clause 130, page 58, line 34, leave out from beginning to second 'the' in line 38.

The amendment seeks to delete from clause 130(2) the words from the beginning of the subsection to the end of the word ''activities''. It seems to us that unless there is definite proof, the commission ought not to be making any moves against a personal licence.

The wording as it stands starts ''If the Commission believes''. Our question is, ''Believes as a result of what?'' Is that belief based on anecdotal evidence, a tip-off or something else? We believe that there ought to be more concrete evidence before the commission starts taking action. The attempt of the amendment, which is a probing amendment to determine how much the Government think the commission needs to know before taking action, is to delete the first three lines of the subsection, so that it reads on automatically from subsection (1).

Mr Richard Caborn (Minister of State (Sport and Tourism), Department for Culture, Media & Sport; Sheffield Central, Labour)

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. I am sure that the Committee can see the sense in what he said. I agree that the commission should always notify employers about staff whose personal licences have been revoked. I imagine that that is what the commission will do.

However, the words that the amendment would delete have a purpose. It is possible for someone to apply for and hold a personal licence without being employed by an operating licensee. That was made possible because we thought it a good idea for people to train and apply for a personal licence in the hope of getting a job.

So, the words that the amendment would delete are needed to lift the burden on the commission if the personal licensee has no employer. That is the responsibility of the commission. It is not about the merits of the disqualification order but is an administrative matter. With that explanation, I hope that the hon. Gentleman will withdraw his amendment. 

Mr Malcolm Moss (Shadow Minister, Home Affairs; North East Cambridgeshire, Conservative)

I think I got that. If the clause is not about the merits of the case but is a matter of administration and assistance, I am happy to accept it. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Clause 130, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 131 to 133 ordered to stand part of the Bill.