HC Deb 02 December 1952 vol 508 c1277
52. Mr. Fletcher-Cooke

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make all appointments to the Monopolies Commission full-time appointments, thus enabling the Commission to operate more speedily than at present.

Mr. H. Strauss

No, Sir. The Commission's work requires men of varied outlook and experience, including some with first-hand knowledge of the current problems of the business community. The exclusion of qualified persons who were unwilling to serve full-time would unduly narrow our field of choice.

Mr. Fletcher-Cooke

Would it not nevertheless speed up the work of this Commission considerably, since the Commission itself and not the secretariat is at present the bottleneck?

Mr. Strauss

I am not certain whether that is the case, but I think the advantage would be purchased too dearly.

Mr. Gaitskell

Can the hon. and learned Gentleman say what other steps he is taking to speed up the work of the Monopolies Commission?

Mr. Strauss

Some of the matters were mentioned in a recent debate, but I could not do that in answer to this Question without notice.