HC Deb 28 June 1960 vol 625 cc1145-7
Mr. C. Hughes

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. In view of the strength of Welsh opinion about the appointment of Mrs. Jones to be Chairman of the Welsh Council of the British Broadcasting Corporation, has the Prime Minister approached you to ask if he may make a statement in reply to Question No. 44?

Mr. Speaker

I regret that not even the strength of Welsh opinion makes that a matter for me.

Mr. J. Griffiths

Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. May I direct your attention to the fact that the Welsh Broadcasting Council, appointed by the Government, with one dissentient voice only, voted to appeal to the Prime Minister to reconsider his decision? In view of the fact that his reply is awaited, could you not ask the Prime Minister to reply to this Question today?

Mr. Speaker

I am sure that what the right hon. Gentleman has said has been heard, but it really is not a matter for me.

Mr. G. Thomas

Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. In view of the fact that the position of the British Broadcasting Corporation's Welsh Council becomes worse with every passing day—[An HON. MEMBER: "Say it in Welsh."] Esgusodwch fi, os gwelwch yn dda—

Mr. Speaker

I hope that the hon. Member will be quite sure that he is not making a speech under the cloak of a point of order. I will hear him on the point of order. I have no right to hear him on another topic.

Mr. Thomas

I was distracted for a moment, Mr. Speaker.

In view of the fact that the position of the Welsh Council is put in increasing difficulty by the delay, would it not be possible for the Prime Minister to help clear the position by making a statement now, with your permission?

Mr. Speaker

That is not a point of order for the Chair.

Mr. Shinwell

On a further point of order, Mr. Speaker. Apart from the merits of the actual point raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Anglesey (Mr. C. Hughes), may I call your attention to another aspect of the matter? You are aware that, some time ago, the allocation of the stage when the Prime Minister should answer Question was revised. I think that it was the Leader of the House, if not the Prime Minister himself, who said that the present arrangement should be tried. It has been tried for several weeks.

The result has been that it is very rarely, even if the Prime Minister reaches his Questions, that he is able to go through them all. If he had been able to do so today, the Question about which my hon. and right hon. Friends have asked would have been answered. Whether it would have been answered satisfactorily or not is beside the point at the moment. Would you consider, perhaps with the Leader of the House, whether it is possible to revise the allocation again and bring the Prime Minister's Question forward to, let us say, Question No. 35?

Mr. Speaker

My reply to the right hon. Gentleman gives me an opportunity to say—these things are rather tedious when they are said—that it is really very little use the House resolving that it will help me in the length and number of supplementary questions if the state of affairs is once again as it is now.

I will certainly take note of what the right hon. Gentleman has said. I am sure that the Leader of the House will do the same.