§ 45. Sir K. WOODasked the Prime Minister whether he intends to inform the House from time to time of the conclusions that are arrived at by the new Advisory Committee on Unemployment?
§ The PRIME MINISTER (Mr. Ramsay MacDonald)The only conclusions that could appropriately be made public will be the conclusions of the Government.
§ Sir K. WOODWould it be possible for the House to appoint an observer to see how the Prime Minister gets on with the right hon. Member for Carnarvon Boroughs (Mr. Lloyd George)?
§ 46. Mr. KIRKWOODasked the Prime Minister whether, in view of its greater convenience for the purpose of eliciting comprehensive information, he will revert to the previous system by which a single Minister was responsible to the House for all aspects of the Government's unemployment policy?
§ The PRIME MINISTERNo, Sir. I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave on the 5th June in reply to a question by the Noble Lord the right hon. Member for Aldershot (Viscount Wolmer).
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYDoes this mean that, with the exception of the First Commissioner of Works, there is no Minister who is specially responsible for unemployment under the new arrangement?
§ The PRIME MINISTERIt means the opposite. It means that the Departments become responsible for their proper share of the work.
§ Sir AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINHas the Prime Minister abandoned the idea of a central brain. May not the House consult the central brain if it still exists?
§ The PRIME MINISTERThe right hon. Member for West Birmingham (Sir A. Chamberlain) has always been under a misapprehension about "the central brain." To begin with we took over what was left by our predecessors. We then improved it and appointed an Economic Advisory Council, to which I referred when I used that expression.
§ Mr. CHURCHILLIs there to be no one Minister in this House to whom the House and the country may look as the person specially charged with an endeavour to resolve the problem of unemployment as far as possible?
§ The PRIME MINISTERNo; that such should have been the case was an innovation. The body responsible for Government policy, which cannot be concentrated in any one Department, is the Cabinet, the Government itself.
§ Sir A. CHAMBERLAINAm I to understand that the Prime Minister, having tried his own cure, has now reverted to the example set by his predecessors and is going to allow individual Departments to discharge their individual functions?
§ The PRIME MINISTERIt is much more than that, as I have explained.
§ Mr. ERNEST BROWNMay I ask whether the Lord Privy Seal has anything to do now with unemployment grants?
§ The PRIME MINISTERYes, the Lord Privy Seal is one of the Members of the Cabinet Committee which is responsible for unemployment policy.
§ 51. Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYasked the Prime Minister whether he is now in a position to state the nature of the reorganisation of Ministerial duties to deal with unemployment?
§ The PRIME MINISTERAs I have already stated, there will be no one Minister responsible for unemployment questions. Each Departmental Minister will be responsible under the Cabinet for matters arising within his own field. The Cabinet in exercising its general responsibility will have the assistance of a special Committee of Ministers. I would also refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the answer which I gave on Monday last in reply to a question by the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Woolwich West (Sir K. Wood).
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYIf it is convenient, and he is in a position to do so, can the Prime Minister tell us what will be the duties of this organisation to which he has just referred, of the Lord Privy Seal, and of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster?
§ The PRIME MINISTERAs I have just stated, the Lord Privy Seal is a member of the Committee, and the Chancellor of the Duchy is not.
§ Mr. HARRISWhat duties has the Lord Privy Seal, besides sealing documents, in order to earn his salary?
§ The PRIME MINISTERThe Lord Privy Seal has heavy responsibilities placed upon him to co-operate with his fellow-Ministers in this Committee in dealing with unemployment policy.
§ Mr. CHURCHILLIs it not a fact that as a result of this reorganisation of offices another brand-new first-class office with £5,000 a year has been created and added to the Ministerial list, without any countervailing economy?
§ The PRIME MINISTERThat is perfectly incorrect. The two offices were in existence before, but for certain reasons that were totally inadequate they were not actually separated. Two Under-Secretaries have been appointed, and what has been done is to give the Dominions the proper status that they ought to have in the government of the country.
§ Mr. CHURCHILLSetting aside all these details, is it not the fact that we are actually paying more for the present Administration than for any other Cabinet which has ever yet been seen?
§ The PRIME MINISTERSo far as the new appointments to the Dominions are concerned, His Majesty's Government have no intention of asking that work should be done by charity.