HC Deb 11 February 1954 vol 523 cc1360-1
48. Miss Ward

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the classes of women whose employment attracts Treasury funds who now receive equal pay.

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

As the answer is inevitably very detailed and complex, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Miss Ward

Can my right hon. Friend say why new entrants to joint pricing organisations are denied the right, in their earlier years, to have equal pay, which is now the accepted right of civil servants? Is not the whole matter in a deplorable muddle and ought we not now to start with equal pay, so that everyone may be on equal terms?

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

If the hon. Lady can spare the time to read the very full answer which I am circulating, I hope that it will make her much happier.

Mr. I. O. Thomas

Will the Minister say whether women Cabinet Ministers receive the same salary as men Cabinet Ministers?

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

Yes, Sir.

Following is the answer:

I assume that my hon. Friend has in mind non-industrial employees. The classes of women who are entitled to receive equal pay, and whose remuneration is borne directly on Votes, are as follow:

  1. 1. Ministers of the Crown.
  2. 2. Members of the House of Commons.
  3. 3. In the Civil Service: Deputy Secretaries, Doctors, Dentists, Medical Auxiliaries, certain Nursing and other Hospital Grades, Factory Inspectors, Grade II.
  4. 4. In the Armed Forces: Doctors, Dentists.

In addition, there are a number of bodies whose employees are not civil servants but whose expenditure is borne wholly, or almost wholly, on Votes. These include, for example, the British Council, where the practice regarding equal pay is the same as in the Civil Service, and the National Health Service, where the practice is the same as in the local government service.

A large number of bodies receive grants-in-aid from Votes. The proportion of expenditure represented by the grants-in-aid, and the degree of control exercised by the central Government, vary widely. Control frequently does not extend to the specific salaries paid, and complete information is not available as to the practice of all these bodies regarding equal pay. Other grants are made to local authorities and other local bodies in respect either of their general functions or of specific services. I have no complete information as to the practice of all these authorities.