Lord John Hope: I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. The purpose of this Measure is to amend the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act, 1963, with respect to the provision of amusements with prizes. It does not affect the provision of gaming machines in premises not open to the public. "Amusements with prizes", the expression used in the 1963 Act, described a minor form of gaming in which a...
Lord John Hope: Yes, it could not refuse. The intention, evidently, was to attract children to play the machine in the hope of winning an expensive toy. There is nothing unlawful about that as the Act stands.
Lord John Hope: I cannot say that it has happened in any other shops. This is the only case I know, but it could happen. It is an ingenious and perfectly lawful thing to do. Its very ingenuity makes one wonder whether it is wide-spread.
Lord John Hope: No, it could not and I was about to refer to the opinion of a judge in a High Court judgment which would apply in this connection. In the case of Hewison v. Skegness Urban District Council, reported in Law Reports 1963. 1, Queen's Bench Division, at page 584, this part of the judgment puts the matter in a nutshell: It seems, however, unfortunate that Parliament should not have given to the...
Lord John Hope: That is so. Local authorities are very reluctant to take that line because of the way in which the Act is drafted, but they could take it.
Lord John Hope: That is perfectly true and, as I have said, some of these refusals have been revoked on appeal to the court. This may explain the reluctance of local authorities to refuse permission. The judgment which I quoted continues: I have not lost sight of the fact that paragraph 2 of the Third Schedule provides that the grant of a permit shall be at the discretion of the local authority. The...
Lord John Hope: I think that one says "cayfe", not "caff".
Lord John Hope: For the record, may I correct my hon. Friend. I was not recommending the abolition of tokens. I wish to limit them to the value of 1s.
Lord John Hope: According to custom it is my duty to declare an interest, in that I am on the board of a company which manufactures broadcasting materials. I have absolutely no financial interest whatsoever as between the B.B.C. and Independent Television. Like my right hon. Friend the Postmaster-General, I start from the proposition that Independent Television is entitled to fair competition with the...
Lord John Hope: The hon. Member says "It does not". I see very little means of reaching any other conclusion. On page 230 of the memoranda submitted to the Committee, the B.B.C. said: All this is not to deny the energy, inventiveness and determination sometimes displayed by some of the commercial companies. But the by-products of such enterprise are not often noticed at the time. No one intended that as a...
Lord John Hope: My hon. Friend has reinforced my argument, although I chose a rather more juicy piece. The reason cannot be commercial. After all, the B.B.C. stands to gain—and I think it is right that it should—from the licensing system. So it cannot be that. I think that what is really at the back of it is that the B.B.C.—I hope that I have paid my tribute to it, because it has done wonderful...
Lord John Hope: I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. I was merely suggesting that the powerful spirit of that former Director-General still walks in the corridors of Broadcasting House.
Lord John Hope: Just Works, not Public Building.
Lord John Hope: I think that it was two years ago, in a speech in the House as Minister of Works on the appropriate Estimates, that I reminded hon. Members that as a community local authorities were notoriously bad and slack about anything to do with beauty which came within their jurisdiction. We knew of two in the whole country then which were co-operative and ready to help. Otherwise, the thing was a...
Lord John Hope: I propose to seek provision in the 1963–64 Estimates so that a start can be made as soon as the House rises for the Summer Recess of 1963.
Lord John Hope: I am sure that I never told the hon. Lady that we would start in 1961. I do not know where she got that information. The Answer which I have just given is the right one.
Lord John Hope: That is all rather unnecessarily cross. The perfectly understandable hopes of the Commitee are one thing. What I have tried to tell the House from time to time as the Minister responsible is perfectly consistent and I have never said anything about 1961.
Lord John Hope: The Council for British Archàology is not yet able to forecast the date when the pilot survey will be complete.
Lord John Hope: I am not sure that it is a question of lack of funds, but I have asked the Council to have a talk with me to see whether we can get a move on.
Lord John Hope: Machinery is a rather different matter. As to early industrial monuments, I have powers under existing legislation to save anything that urgently needs saving without awaiting the report of the Council.
