BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

HC Deb 14 March 1968 vol 760 cc1631-8

Mr. Heath

May I ask the Leader of the House to state the business of the House for next week?

The Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Richard Crossman)

Yes, Sir. The business for next week will be as follows:

MONDAY, 18TH MARCH—Supply (17th Allotted Day).

There will be a debate on the Grey Areas until 7 o'clock on a Motion for the Adjournment of the House.

Afterwards a debate on the Vote on Account.

At Ten o'clock the Question will be put from the Chair on all oustanding Votes.

Motions on the Income Tax Transitional Relief (Extension of Period) Orders.

Motion on the Police Pensions (Amendment) Regulations.

Prayer on the Thames Valley Police (Amalgamation) Order.

TUESDAY, 19TH MARCH—My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will open his Budget.

At Seven o'clock the Chairman of Ways and Means has set down Opposed Private Business for consideration.

WEDNESDAY, 20TH MARCH, and THURSDAY, 21ST MARCH—The general debate on the Budget Resolutions and the Economic Situation will be continued.

FRIDAY, 22ND MARCH—Private Members' Bills.

MONDAY, 25TH MARCH—Conclusion of the debate on the Budget Resolutions.

Motions on the Rate Support Grant (Increase) (Scotland) Order and on the Bootle (Extension) Order.

Mr. Heath

I understand that on Budget Day the new procedure will come into force for the handling of Budget Resolutions. It would be for the convenience of the House if the right hon. Gentleman indicated how they will be handled.

Mr. Crossman

It is proposed to bring the new procedure into force. That means that we shall face a procedure for the first time which requires only a single stage to the Budget Resolutions on Budget day. It will be a decision on a single holding Resolution which has only a temporary effect. Thus the Resolutions themselves will be discussed throughout the four days of debate and before the House is asked to come to decisions on them. I agree with the right hon. Gentleman that, for this reason, it would probably be for the convenience of the House if the handing round of the Resolutions, in a conspicuous interruption of our proceedings, no longer took place on Budget Day. Instead, right hon. and hon. Members will be able to obtain copies from the Vote Office and, after the first day, the Resolutions will appear on the Order Paper.

Mr. Heath

Can the right hon. Gentleman confirm that the opportunity for the House to vote on the Resolutions individually will come at the end of the debate on Monday?

Mr. Crossman

Yes, Sir. On Budget Day there will be a holding Resolution. The new procedure means that we shall be able to consider the Resolutions first and then vote on them individually afterwards. That is surely more sensible than the old method.

Mr. Gresham Cooke

The right hon. Gentleman has acceded to the suggestion of a debate on the Vote on Account next Monday evening. Does not the right hon. Gentleman agree that, as the General Estimates are really the basis for the Budget, in future we should have one day for discussion of the General Estimates before the Budget?

Mr. Crossman

That is a possibility. I am gratified that the hon. Gentleman is satisfied with the business on Monday.

Mr. Ogden

Did I understand my right hon. Friend to say that on Monday there will be a debate about those areas of our country which are at present rather slow in growth but are of enormous potential? Will he sack the damn fool who called them "a grey area"?

Mr. Crossman

I think the most important thing is to have a debate on the subject, however we describe it.

Several Hon. Members

rose—

Mr. Speaker

Order. We have a lot of business ahead of us.

Sir H. Legge-Bourke

Has the attention of the Leader of the House been drawn to Motion 193—

[That this House has no confidence in the right hon. Member for Coventry, East, as Leader of the House.]—

The Motion is now signed by 111 hon. Members and expresses no confidence in himself? How long does he propose to allow a Motion of this kind to remain undebated on the Order Paper, especially bearing in mind the utter confusion into which the Order Paper has got as the result of the Government's decision today?

Mr. Crossman

The hon. Gentleman has been here long enough—the same time as I have—to know what usually happens to Motions of this kind when Front Bench support is not given to them.

Mr. Mendelson

Will my right hon. Friend make a further statement about the request last week, repeatedly made, that the House should have a debate on Vietnam so that hon. Members may question the Cabinet's pledged support for President Johnson's disastrous policy, take note of the movement of opinion in the United States, and avoid Her Majesty's Government remaining alone with him on the burning deck?

Mr. Crossman

I have nothing to add to what I said last week, that until the end of the Budget debate we have no time for other public business. My right hon. Friend has already given assurances to the Leader of the Opposition that we shall consider, as top priority, the desirability of a debate on Rhodesia. With that one consideration, I would tell my hon. Friend that I think that the subject has high priority, but it must come after the Rhodesia debate.

Mr. Hogg

Can the right hon. Gentleman tell us when we are likely to have the text of the Race Relations Bill and what the prospects are of a Second Reading debate before the Recess?

Mr. Crossman

I think I can promise the publication of the Bill before the Recess, but we must accept that the Second Reading will take place very soon after we return from the Easter holidays.

Mr. Molloy

Can my right hon. Friend say whether or not he has given further consideration to the possibility of a very early debate regarding the now critical situation that is arising in the movement of industry out of London, with particular regard to the difficulties being experienced in the engineering industry?

Mr. Crossman

It is not worth giving further consideration to a very early debate because that is physically impossible.

Mr. Lubbock

Is the right hon. Gentleman going to stand by the promise he made that we could have a debate during March on the Report of the Select Committee on Science and Technology dealing with the nuclear reactor programme?

Mr. Crossman

I have made it clear—I thought it was agreed in the House—that the debate awaits a reply from the Ministry. I am making inquiries about it. If the hon. Gentleman will ask me the same question next Thursday, I shall try to give him precise information.

Mr. Whitaker

Will my right hon. Friend agree that there is a necessity for a debate in the near future on the subject of a new building in the Palace of Westminster, or further rebuilding, because the subject has been hanging fire now for many years?

Mr. Crossman

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this subject. I hope that the Services Committee will submit a report in the not too far distant future on the practicability of a building on the other side of Bridge Street, and if that is done I would expect us to devote some time to a debate on it.

Mr. Maudling

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware of the considerable concern about the Government's negotiations with the Argentine Government about the Falkland Islands, which has not been alleviated by discussions in another place yesterday? In these circumstances, will he ensure that a statement is made on behalf of the Government next week?

Mr. Crossman

I will certainly communicate that wish to my right hon. Friend, and if there is anything new to say I am sure he will make a statement, though I cannot promise that it will be next week.

Mr. Heffer

As my right hon. Friend gave me a semi-assurance two weeks ago that there could be a debate on the Early Day Motion that I and 191 other hon. Members have signed calling for a security conference in Europe, can he indicate whether we are likely to get it before the Easter Recess, if not next week?

[That this House welcomes the proposal of a European Security Conference as outlined in the communiqué following the visit of the Prime Minister to Moscow; believes that now is the time for a British initiative in this direction and urges the Government, in agreement with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, to make early contact with all those states eligible to attend; and further believes that such a conference would present the opportunity for a peaceful solution to the European security problem, with the possibility of a nuclear-free zone in central Europe.]

Mr. Crossman

I can give my hon. Friend a semi-demi-assurance that he will not.

Mr. Clark Hutchison

As I am having considerable difficulty in getting an answer from the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office about the Falkland Islands, may I have a statement early next week about it? Will the right hon. Gentleman refer himself and his Cabinet colleagues to the Book of Genesis, Chapter 25?

Mr. Crossman

I am always willing to pass any message from any hon. Gentleman to my right hon. colleagues. When I understand the significance of that message, I will, if I can, pass it on.

Mr. Woodburn

Can my right hon. Friend say whether there will be another statement next week on the decision in regard to Alcan, British Aluminium and other organisations which are proposing to build smelter plants in different parts of the country?

Mr. Crossman

I will talk to my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade about it, but I would not expect a statement next week.

Several Hon. Members

rose—

Mr. Speaker

Order. I would again remind the House that we have a great deal of business ahead of us.

Mr. Biffen

With regard to next week's business, can the Leader of the House indicate whether or not the Budget debates will follow some predetermined form, and, in particular, whether one day is to be allocated specifically to prices and incomes policy?

Mr. Crossman

It is our intention that the Economic Secretary should open the debate on Thursday, and, though one cannot restrict the debate, I would hope that it would stimulate others to discuss prices and incomes on that day.

Mr. Lipton

Does my right hon. Friend realise that by putting down opposed Private Bills for 7 o'clock next Tuesday he is denying hon. Members an opportunity of taking part in the Budget debate of which many have been able to take advantage in previous years who are not likely to be called when the main debate opens?

Mr. Crossman

I am sure my hon. Friend will appreciate that it is not I who put Private Business down on that day. It is for the Chairman to do so. But the Chairman courteously asked my advice on it, and, on reflection, I agreed with him. He assures me that it will not take long. If a very strong opinion were expressed by the House, I would consider the possibility of prolonging the time that night, but I am not sure that that is the widespread desire of the House.

Mr. Peter Mills

In view of the disappointing and totally unacceptable reply by the Government about Professor Tress's report on the economic problems of the South-West, will the right hon. Gentleman ensure that a debate takes place as soon as possible to deal with this very difficult problem?

Mr. Crossman

I will certainly communicate that desire to my right hon. Friend, but we could not possibly do it next week or before the Easter Recess.

Sir J. Eden

Will the right hon. Gentleman reconsider the answer that he gave about the matter of the Falkland Islands? Surely he must recognise that it is very unsatisfactory now to leave the situation as it was left yesterday by his noble Friend? If the Government are about to sell people down the river in the name of this country, surely we are entitled to an early statement?

Mr. Crossman

I try to discuss the business here, and I really cannot enter into the merits of the matter. I said that I would communicate the feelings of one hon. Gentleman, and I will communicate the feelings of the hon. Member for Bournemouth, West (Sir J. Eden). But what I will not do is predict what will happen when I have done so.

Mr. Hastings

With regard to the debate on the grey areas, will the right hon. Gentleman confirm that it will be in order to include the whole of the Treasury Bench?

Mr. Crossman

I should have thought that that was a question which should be put to you, Mr. Speaker. All I say—one could say many things—is that I should not have thought that my right hon. Friend who is sitting beside me could be described as grey.

Mr. Peyton

Reverting to the point raised by my hon. Friend the Member for the Isle of Ely (Sir H. Legge-Bourke), and bearing in mind the addiction of the Leader of the House to fascinating little experiments, would it not be a good thing if we discussed the Motion which is so critical of him? Is he really going to suffer the disgrace of leaving it on the Order Paper?

Mr. Crossman

I suspect that later in the course of tonight or even tomorrow morning references will be made to that Motion. Meanwhile I have looked at the precedents and find that there have been many Leaders of the House who have avoided the terrible threats of Early Day Motions, but I cannot find one who has responded in a different way from the way in which I propose to respond to this one.

Sir F. Bennett

When judging the reasonableness or otherwise of the many requests that the right hon. Gentleman has received from many parts of the House about a statement on the Falkland Islands, will he take into account the fact that many hon. Members who tabled Questions on Monday for immediate answer and are used to getting an answer within 24 hours have not yet got one four days later?

Mr. Crossman

Yes. I can reveal a great secret to the hon. Member: that I will not have to communicate every word of what he has said to the Foreign Secretary.

Sir Knox Cunningham

But will he understand it?

Mr. John Wells

Does the Private Business on Tuesday include the Covent Garden Bill. If not, when can we expect that Bill to be debated?

Mr. Crossman

The answer is, not next week.