New Clause 3 – in the House of Commons am 5:30 pm ar 16 Mai 1991.
'An Order in Council under paragraph 1(1)(b) of Schedule 1 to the Northern Ireland Act 1974 (exercise of legislative functions for Northern Ireland) which states that it is made only for purposes corresponding to the purposes of sections 61 and 62 of this Act—
With this, it will be convenient to take Government amendment No. 62.
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
The purpose of these measures is to permit the extension to Northern Ireland, by the negative resolution Order in Council procedure, of the home loss payment provisions contained in clauses 61 and 62. The measures are essentially technical, but I shall be happy to explain them further if anyone wishes me to do so.
This issue was debated in Committee, but I should like to put it on record that what applies to the rest of the United Kingdom applies to Northern Ireland also. Tenants deserve a better deal. We welcome the increased home loss payments for owner-occupiers, but it is unreasonable to assume that a tenant's investment in a home is necessarily much less as is reflected in the provision. As was said many times in Committee, many tenants invest a great deal of time and money in their homes. If my memory serves me correctly, the compensation that such a person receives for his home is £2,500. That is a paltry sum for someone who has occupied a house for, say, 30 years and has spent much of his savings on putting it into high-class condition. It is sad that the Minister cannot be more generous.
We have had a fairly extensive debate on that problem. These measures will honour an assurance, given in another place many years ago, that the people of Northern Ireland would be treated no less favourably, in financial terms in relation to planning matters, than their counterparts in Great Britain.