HC Deb 12 May 1952 vol 500 cc859-60
47. Mr. Douglas Jay

asked the Prime Minister what are the responsibilities of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in co-ordinating or supervising the public relations activities of the Government.

The Prime Minister

To help his fellow Ministers in ensuring that information about the activities of their Departments, which should be available to the Press and the public, is readily available in an accurate and convenient manner.

Mr. Jay

May we take it that the responsibility for electoral propaganda is being transferred from Lord Woolton to Lord Swinton? If so, is the Prime Minister satisfied with the result?

The Prime Minister

I was not aware that it was an obligation upon the Government to define with exactness and refinement the way in which they take measures which they consider necessary to inform the public of their point of view; but I certainly have felt that activities of that kind are necessary to enable us to deal with what I might call Socialist terminological inexactitudes.