Perhaps I should briefly give the background to this important, substantive amendment. Waddilove and many others recognised that stop notices were sensible and necessary, but he also said that, while a stop notice is in force, interim repairs should be carried out to a high standard. The amendment is designed to achieve that.

Amendment No. 4 will ensure that, where a stop notice is in force, works must be undertaken to ensure that the property is "reasonably fit" to be used for the purpose for which it was used immediately before the damage became apparent. The wording comes form the Coal-mining (Subsidence) Act 1957. The standard is not as high as that which we apply to full repairs, which must now be done to the reasonable satisfaction of the claimant. As an interim measure pending final repairs, the amendment provides a sensible advance and should commend itself to the House.