Part of Orders of the Day — Civic Restaurants Bill – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 31 Mawrth 1947.
Perhaps I may be allowed to speak again, with the leave of the House. I thought I had said when I was on my feet that it seemed clear that the Minister of Food was the one who was competent to determine whether a local authority, being a civic restaurant authority, was reasonably exercising the functions and the powers given to it under this Measure. I should have thought he was the Minister who would have the facts available to him on which such a decision could be reached. This is not a case of transferring power from Saint Andrews House to Whitehall. We have not any restaurant powers at Saint Andrews House at the present moment. It is not unusual for Ministers whose headquarters are in Whitehall to exercise powers in Scotland. Many Ministers do so, and have done so for a very long time.