HC Deb 17 November 1958 vol 595 cc825-6
26. Mr. Marquand

asked the Paymaster-General if he will state the present membership of the Iron and Steel Board.

Sir Ian Horobin

I will, with permission, circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the present membership of the Iron and Steel Board.

Mr. Marquand

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that on 6th November, at column 1229 of the OFFICIAL REPORT, he referred to the membership of this Board and to trade union representatives? The hon. Gentleman said that there are three on the Board. Is he aware that there are no trade union representatives on the Board and that nobody is sent there to represent his union? Is the hon. Gentleman further aware that he referred to the General Secretary of the National Union of Blast Furnacemen, Ore Miners, Coke Workers and Kindred Trades as being a member of the Board? Is he also aware that the secretary of that union is Mr. Joseph O'Hagan and that he is not a member of the Board?

Sir I. Horobin

Without looking at HANSARD, I cannot say whose was the slip, if it is so stated. The right hon. Gentleman is right, none of these members is representative of any body. The point of the argument at that time was whether the membership of the Board carried in it as large a contingent of persons from the trade union movement, and I pointed out that it was larger. For instance, Sir Lincoln Evans and Sir Andrew Naesmith, it is true, are not representatives of the trade union movement any more than other members are representatives of industry. If there has been any slip, I will apologise to the House, but the point was clear that there were people on the Board with a trade union background.

Mr. Marquand

May we take it that the short answer to my question is, yes, Mr. O'Hagan is not a member of the Board?

Following is the present membership of the Iron and Steel Board:

Chairman: Sir Archibald Forbes, G.B.E.

Deputy Chairman: Sir Lincoln Evans. C.B.E.

Whole-time Member: Sir Robert Shone. C.B.E.

Part-time Members: Sir Charles Connell, Sir Percy Lister, Sir Andrew Naesmith, C.B.E., J. Owen, Arnold E. Pearce, N. H. Rollason, Sir Henry Spurrier, A. G. Stewart.