§ As amended (in Standing Committee), considered.
§ 8.48 p.m.
The Joint Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Commander T. D. Galbraith)I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read the Third time."
As the Bill was debated on Second Reading in the Scottish Grand Committee it may be that the House will wish me to explain its purpose very briefly. Hon. Members will remember that under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act, 1947, the Hospital Endowments Commission was set up to inquire into existing endowments and to prepare schemes for the reallocation of endowments if that were thought to be necessary. That was because the main objects for which many of these endowments were given were met by the setting up of the National Health Service.
In the course of its inquiries the Commission came to the conclusion that the income from the endowments was greater than could be usefully employed in providing additional amenities for Scottish hospitals, to which for all practical purposes they were now limited. They accordingly recommended to my right hon. Friend that some of the income should be made available for medical research. These recommendations, as the House will remember, were published in a White Paper, Cmd. 8615, and this Bill gives effect to them.
The Bill has two closely related purposes, first to provide for the setting up by my right hon. Friend of a Scottish Hospital Endowments Research Trust, and, second, to empower the Hospital Endowments Commission to transfer endowments to that Trust. The total capital, that is the market value of the endowments with which the Endowments Commission are concerned, amounted at the appointed day to £13 million, and the intention is that a proportion of these endowments shall be transferred from the boards of management in which they were vested under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act, 1947, to the Research Trust.
1826 In our discussions in the Scottish Grand Committee some concern was expressed that the Commission should not have an unlimited power to transfer endowments, and as during the Committee stage that appeared to be more or less the general opinion, my right hon. Friend put down an Amendment, which is now incorporated in the Bill, putting a limit on the endowments which may be transferred to the Trust.
Hon. Members who took part in the discussion will remember that the proviso to Clause 2 has the effect of limiting the transfer of endowments to an aggregate of such amount as in the year ended 31st March, 1952, produced an income of £120,000. The precise amount to be transferred within that limited figure will be a matter for the Endowments Commission in the course of their work of making schemes for the various endowments.
It is well known that money is by no means the only factor limiting medical research, but I submit that in giving this Bill its Third Reading we shall be making it possible to establish in Scotland a Medical Research Fund which will be of the greatest possible value in the years to come. I therefore express the hope that the House will give this Bill a unanimous Third Reading.
§ 8.53 p.m.
Mr. A. Woodbnm (Clackmannan and East Stirlingshire)I think it is right that the Joint Under-Secretary of State should have explained the purpose of this Bill because under our special Scottish procedure this Bill has been discussed in the Scottish Grand Committee, with respect both to its Second Reading principle and its Committee stage. Therefore, this is really the first time that the Bill has come before the House to be discussed with respect to its principle and details.
This is fortunately a Bill about which there is absolutely no disagreement in any part of the House. The origins of the Bill were in a debate which took place in the Scottish Grand Committee in 1948, which disclosed that Scotland was showing an increasing incidence of tuberculosis which alarmed the Members considerably and led to an investigation into the reason why that should be so in Scotland when, so far as could be ascertained, in every other country the figures were decreasing.
1827 The Government of the day immediately provided an extra 1,000 houses, before the supply of aluminium houses was brought to an end, in order to relieve overcrowding in cases in which tuberculosis was discovered. It was recognised that overcrowding at least made infection more likely, and it was felt that if that amount of segregation could take place there was a possibility of making some contribution to a solution of the problem.
Fortunately, the following year when investigation took place, it was discovered that the incidence was not as great overall in every class as had been thought, and that it was confined to two special classes—young women, and men over 53. It was clearly necessary to have a far greater investigation into this problem than was possible by the mere collection of statistics. It led to consultations with the Medical Research Council, with a view to having the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Secretary of State merged with some body that would not only act as an advisory committee to the Secretary of State but would be able to undertake the supervision and guidance of research in Scotland.
I want to make it clear that there is no intention of interfering in any way with the work of the Medical Research Council. This Bill is a complement to them, not a substitution for them, and the Council will be represented on the body that guides research in Scotland. Scotland has a great reputation in the medical world, and it is right that she should do research in this field. The money which is now being transferred will enable Scotland to play her part in producing people who have the capacity to do this work.
Research knows no frontiers. Like peace, it is indivisible, and we shall be playing our part, in co-operation with other countries. We shall certainly gain from the work of other countries, and it may be that we, in our turn, shall be able to help. In any case, research should be an essential part of the training of students in all kinds of colleges. This body will have the opportunity of stimulating research, finding out the 1828 people who are capable of it but who are not carrying it out, and giving them tasks to undertake, with a view to developing on lines which are not at present being tackled.
We have endorsed this Bill from its very beginning. It started during the Administration of 1948, the proceedings have continued during this Administration, and it has fallen to a Secretary of State of a different political colour to the one in office in 1948 to bring this matter to its fruition. It is a Scottish matter, carried through by Members of all parties. We give it our blessing, and we hope that out of the seeds that are being planted and fertilised by this endowment there will come great fruit, in respect of the health of the people and the gaining of greater knowledge by our medical and surgical people in Scotland.
§ 8.57 p.m.
§ Mr. James McInnes (Glasgow, Central)I want to associate myself with the observations made by my right hon. Friend the Member for East Stirlingshire (Mr. Woodburn). I welcome the Bill as it is presented to us at this stage. At one time there were grave fears that the intention was to give the Secretary of State unlimited power to take over the endowment funds which belonged to these hospitals. Following representations made to him during the Committee stage, in the Scottish Grand Committee, I am glad to see that the Secretary of State has taken the opportunity of eliminating such fears as existed not only among Members of the Committee but among many of the hospitals in Scotland which were responsible for part of the administration of these endowment funds.
I am glad that the Secretary of State, by stipulating the sum that is to be taken annually from the endowment funds and limited to the Hospital Endowments Research Trust, has clarified the position. I want to express my appreciation to the right hon. Gentleman for the gesture he has made.
§ Question put, and agreed to.
§ Bill accordingly read the Third time, and passed, with an Amendment.