HC Deb 17 July 1956 vol 556 cc1044-5
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Henry Brooke)

With your permission, Mr. Speaker, and that of the House, I wish to make a statement about the supply of Acts of Parliament and other publications to hon. Members.

The present rule provides that a Member may obtain free, on application to the Vote Office, a copy of any Act of Parliament or other Parliamentary Paper of the current or the two preceding Sessions. I am arranging to have this rule altered so that, when an hon. Member considers it necessary to have, for the discharge of his Parliamentary duties, any older Act of Parliament or Parliamentary Paper, he shall be able to obtain one copy free of charge on application to the Vote Office.

Acts and Papers of the current and two preceding Sessions will continue to be available at the Vote Office on demand; I would ask hon. Members to give the Vote Office a little notice—say 12 hours—when they require older ones. Should the Act or other Paper asked for be out of print, reprinting will be undertaken if the demand for copies is sufficient to justify the expenditure involved.

A Member may obtain, on application to the Controller of the Stationery Office, a copy of any non-Parliamentary publication of the current Session reasonably required for the discharge of his Parliamentary duties. I am arranging that this rule also shall be extended to apply to older publications, provided that copies are available.

I hope that these new arrangements will fully meet the general convenience, and that the House will permit me, at the same time, to appeal to hon. Members to exercise due economy in asking for publications old and new, and, in particular, not to ask to be supplied with expensive publications, as, for instance, all the bound volumes of HANSARD, unless, of course, they make considerable use of them.

Mr. Gaitskell

I am sure that the House will generally welcome the right hon. Gentleman's statement, which certainly goes a long way to meet the convenience of hon. Members.

Mr. Shurmer

Could the right hon. Gentleman say whether this is a substitution for the increase in salary for hon. Members?

Mr. Brooke

No, Sir. It is a replacement of the more restrictive rule laid down 32 years ago, in 1924, by the Labour Government.

Sir J. Crowder

May I ask the Financial Secretary who is to decide, if older Acts of Parliament are asked for, whether it is necessary for hon. Members to have them in order to carry out their duties? Some Acts of Parliament have been asked for in the past which have had nothing to do with the business before the House.

Mr. Brooke

I hope it will be possible always to reach a reasonable understanding about these matters. I should like to put reliance upon hon. Members not to ask for things which they do not require for their Parliamentary duties.