§ Mr. AttleeMay I ask the Prime Minister whether he has any statement to make about the sitting of the House on Friday?
§ The Prime MinisterYes, Sir. The House will recollect that last Thursday I suggested that if it were found possible to conclude the Committee stage of the Finance Bill on Thursday, there would be no need for the Government to ask the House to sit on Friday. From inquiries which have been made, I think that we may reasonably expect to complete the Committee stage of the Finance Bill by Thursday evening. In order to make this possible, I suggest that Parts I and II of the Bill should be disposed of to-morrow, and we might even begin the consideration of Part III. I am sure that Members in all parts of the House will be willing to co-operate in carrying out this programme. Accordingly, we shall not ask the House to sit on Friday of this week.
The usual statement on the business for next week will be made on Thursday.