§ 2.47 p.m.
LORD INGLEWOODMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
The Question was as follows:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the accounts tinder the Development of Tourism Act 1969 for the year ending March 31, 1971, have only recently become available through the Printed Paper Office; and whether this delay can be avoided in future.
§ THE MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO (LORD DRUMALBYN)My Lords, under the Development of Tourism Act 1969 it is the Comptroller and Auditor General who is responsible for laying before Parliament copies of the statement of account of the Tourist Boards. The statement of account for 1970–71 was published on November 18, 1971.
LORD INGLEWOODMy Lords, being more concerned with the principle than these particular accounts or those of the succeeding year, which also showed delay, may I ask my noble friend whether he is satisfied that this procedure is really as good as could be devised for getting 1116 these accounts into the hands of Members of both Houses?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, I am not sure whether it would be possible to say that it is as good as can be devised, but it is at any rate in accordance with the Act, which lays down that the accounts should be submitted to the Comptroller and Auditor General by November 30 each year.
§ LORD AIREDALEMy Lords, is it not the case that the accounts for both years were laid before Parliament in dummy—that is to say, a title page only—and the accounts themselves were not available for months after being laid in dummy? Is not this laying in dummy an absurd practice which ought to be abolished?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNNo, my Lords, I do not think it is an absurd practice. The purpose of laying in dummy is to allow reports when they become available to be printed, even although the House is not in session.
§ LORD AIREDALEMy Lords, does it not lead Members to suppose, when they see in the Minutes that a set of accounts has apparently been laid, that if they went to the Printed Paper Office they would be able to get those accounts, whereas when they do go to the Printed Paper Office all they get is a dummy front page and no information whatever?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, I hope that what I have said to-day will mean that noble Lords will know better in the future.
LORD INGLEWOODMy Lords, may I ask my noble friend whether he is really satisfied that the practice of laying accounts in dummy is in fact limited to the few circumstances such as he mentioned, where there would appear to be some justification, and that it is not used just as a delaying device, which some of us sometimes suspect?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, that carries the question a great deal wider, and I am afraid that I should have to do some research before I could give that assurance.