HC Deb 24 March 1955 vol 538 cc2264-6
42 Mr. Woodburn

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what record he now has of the many public relief funds which exist; what estimate he has of the total funds in their possession; in how many cases their function has largely been fulfilled, or is now exhausted; and whether he will take powers to liquidate continuing administrations of obsolete funds;

(2) whether he will take powers of supervision over the continuance of relief funds and their administration after the reason for their existence has disappeared or their main purpose has been fulfilled; and, if necessary, invite the general public to provide information, within its knowledge, on such matters;

(3) whether he will take powers to order a compilation of all relief funds in existence, their dates of establishment their purpose, and how far they are now operative, with a view to effecting economies in office space and manpower.

Mr. H. Brooke

There is no record of all these funds in the Treasury, and there is nothing I can add today to the reply which my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave to a Question on the subject by the right hon. Gentleman on 15th March.

Mr. Woodburn

Can I take it from that answer that the right hon. Gentleman is going to follow up the Prime Minister's promise to make an inquiry into this matter? Could the hon. Gentleman indicate what happens to the funds? Do they go on being perpetual annuities for those who are connected with them, or are they eventually brought into the public Exchequer or into some common fund in the last stages?

Mr. Brooke

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said that if the right hon. Member for East Stirlingshire (Mr. Woodburn) had any specific information on this matter and conveyed it to him, he would be glad to look into it. I can only repeat that any information from the right hon. Member or from any other quarter would be carefully considered.

Mr. Woodburn

Would the hon. Gentleman read the second supplementary answer of the Prime Minister, in which he went a little further and realised that it was not in the power of a private Member to collect all the statistics and data about these kinds of funds and that it was necessary that it should be done by a public authority? Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the Prime Minister certainly indicated his inclination to investigate the matter further?

Mr. Brooke

The Prime Minister is anxious that it should be examined, but it is questionable what powers one has to collect this information. If information is available in any quarter which hon. Members would like us to consider we should certainly consider it.

Sir F. Medlicott

Have the Government come to any conclusion on the possibility of implementing in legislative form the valuable and important conclusions of the Nathan Committee on this subject, not necessarily in this Parliament, but perhaps in the next?

Mr. Brooke

That is a rather wider question.