§ 69. Sir WILLIAM DAVISONasked the Minister of Health in what circumstances, and by what authority, he has remitted in August, 1922, against certain members the surcharge made by the district auditor of the last Southwark Borough Council in respect of a printing contract for printing ratebooks, a lower tender being refused because the firm tendering, though paying trade union rate of wages, declined to dismiss one or two employés who had worked for them for many years but did not belong to a trade union?
§ 71. Sir EDWARD ILIFFEasked the Minister of Health his reasons for remitting a surcharge of £293 made on 13 members of the former Southwark Borough Council in respect of a printing contract?
§ Mr. WHEATLEYI would refer the hon. Members to the reply given to a similar question by the hon. Member for the Lincoln Division (Mr. A. T. Davies) on the 18th ultimo.
§ Sir W. DAVISONIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that in the reply to which he refers me, he merely stated that he had statutory powers to remit surcharges in cases where he considered it fair and equitable to do so, and does he consider it fair and equitable to withdraw a contract from a firm merely because one or two of its men do not belong to a trade union?
§ Mr. WHEATLEYThe hon. Member's quotation of my reply is not strictly complete. May I complete it? I said that in this case I came to the conclusion that the expenditure was incurred in good faith, though under a mistaken view of the law, and that I did not consider that the circumstances demanded that the councillors who were surcharged should be required personally to make good the amount.
§ Sir K. WOODMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether, at the same time as he remitted this surchage, he informed the board of guardians that he did not propose to do so on another occasion?
§ Mr. WHEATLEYThe usual statement was made to the board of guardians, warning them.
§ Sir W. DAVISONWill the right hon. Gentleman answer my question? Does he think it fair and equitable to deprive a firm of a contract merely because one or two of its men do not belong to a trade union?
§ Mr. WHEATLEYHad I not considered if fair and equitable, I should not have made that decision.