HC Deb 23 July 1946 vol 425 cc2008-10
Mr. Willink

I beg to move, in page 64, line 25, at the end, to insert: A Hospital Management Committee shall have power to co-opt not more than three persons to he members of the Committee. In moving this Amendment with regard to the hospital management committees, I am appealing to the Minister to reconsider this point in the hope that his view may have changed upon it. It is an obvious criticism of this Bill as a whole, applicable in these particular instances, that there is an immense concentration of power in the hands of the Minister, or of his instruments, as he has called them. The hospital management committees, as this stands, are entirely nominated by the regional hospital board. The regional hospital board is an organisation which covers an enormous area—we do not know how large because the Minister has not yet told us what his regions are going to be or even on what principles he is going to determine their boundaries. We suggest—and I hope that the Minister is prepared to reconsider this matter—that it would give an added personality to the hospital management committees, when they have appointed up to a number of 20 or 30 persons, if they were free to add to their number to this very limited extent. They will discover, in the course of their work, people who are showing a great interest in the hospitals of the town or of the county. There can be no place for them on the committee, and what could be less harmful and on the other hand more advantageous, than to allow the advantage to the hospital management committee of adding three persons to their number from citizens whom they have discovered to be useful in these affairs, even before any vacancy has occurred? All of us in our experience have known very valuable instances of co-option and this seems to be a very good occasion for it, Earlier, the Minister suggested that a person who was co-opted always felt in an awkward position and he had to please those who had co-opted him or they would not co-opt him again. That is not an argument which impressed me at any rate. He also said that these valuable people to whom we are referring could always serve on a sub-committee. Why should they be relegated to serving on sub-committees? Why, if they are valuable to the hospital management committee, should they not under the constitution of this Bill be added to the numbers of that of the management committee in the way which we suggest? The old argument against co-option, of bringing non-elected persons on to an elected body, which is frequently advanced with regard to other examples of this question, does not apply here. This is a very small addition to those chosen as a hospital management committee, and these co-opted persons would be considered useful additions to the number. I think the Minister should reconsider the matter and give way on this small point.

Mr. Bevan

This question was exhaustively considered in Committee, and the reasons why I cannot accept it now, are similar to those which I gave upstairs. The hospital management committee is appointed, and is responsible to the Regional Board for the discharge of its functions and the Regional Board is responsible to the Minister. It does not seem to be necessary in the exercise of the functions of the management committee that there should be co-opted members. Obviously there are people in the vicinity who always have some special interest and who do not want to take part in the general work of the management committee, but they have got an interest in some special object of service. In those cases the hospital management committee will appoint subcommittees and on those sub-committees the co-opted persons can serve. It seems to me a perfectly reasonable piece of machinery, and I do not see why one should attach pedantic importance to the management committee having the right of co-option when using the services of interested persons for the specialized work in which they themselves take a particular interest on sub-committees.

Mr. Willink

I am bound to say I am unimpressed by the Minister's argument, but I do not want to take up the time of the House further on the subject. I am sorry the Minister has not acceded to my request.

Amendment negatived.

Mr. Key

I beg to move, in page 64, line 45, after "hospitals," to insert: and Hospital Management Committees. This Amendment is to empower these hospital management committees to be corporate bodies, with power to hold land.

Amendment agreed to.

Mr. Key

I beg to move, in page 65, line 18, at the end, to insert: 4 It is hereby declared, for the avoidance of doubt, that a member or officer of any such body or committee is not, by reason of his membership or office, rendered incapable of being elected, or of sitting and voting, as a Member of the House of Commons. This Amendment is to ensure that members who serve on the committee and receive remunerative advantage for loss of time, will not be disqualified from being elected or voting as Members of the House of Commons.

Amendment agreed to.