§ Mr. Gaitskell(by Private Notice) asked Mr. Speaker whether he has had the opportunity of considering a proposal put to him on Thursday, 7th March, by the Leader of the Opposition that on this occasion it might be to the convenience of the House if he permitted a general debate on the Middle East to take place on the Foreign Office Grants and Services Vote which is tabled for Thursday, 14th March.
§ Mr. SpeakerYes. I have now considered the point put to me by the right hon. Gentleman. As the House knows, the increasing complexity of administration led to the adoption in 1942 of a special procedure whereby discussion on the main Estimates in Committee and on Report was extended to cover matters not entirely financed by a single Vote but relating to several Services, each financed out of a separate Vote. This procedure is not, however, suitable for application to Supplementary Estimates, since debate on these is much more confined than on the main Estimate.
Strictly speaking, therefore, on the Report of Supplementary Estimates, debate on the Question, "That this House doth agree with the Committee in the said Resolution," should be confined to the details of each Estimate in turn. But when I look at the details of Class II, Vote 2, I find that in it funds are provided inter alia for Jordan and for the Suez Canal Users' Association, while those for our share in the United Nations occupying force are provided under Class II, Vote 4, and under Class II, Vote 9, there is a grant for Cyprus.
Each of these matters is quite properly debatable under its appropriate Vote, but each, in my view, is closely, if not inextricably, entangled with the other matters I have mentioned. In applying the rules of the House, I must have some regard to what is possible, and in this 985 case I take the view that I should be quite unable to apply the strict rule of relevancy.
It is in these circumstances, therefore, that with the consent of the House I would on Thursday allow a general debate on the Middle East on the First Resolution. I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Leeds, South (Mr. Gaitskell) for giving me an opportunity to consider the matter. By setting out the exact circumstances of this case, I hope to confine the precedent within the limits of these particular circumstances.
§ Mr. GaitskellWe are all very much obliged, Sir, for the care that you have taken in considering this matter and for the answer that you have given.