PROCEDURE (Hansard, 19 March 1963)

§ Mr. Emrys Hughes (South Ayrshire)
Surely we are entitled to some further explanation of this important procedural change. Perhaps the Leader of the House can state why this proposal should be confined to Finance Bills, whereas other matters of expenditure are not included in this remit. We have been considering ways and means of regulating public expenditure, and we would have been delighted if the Leader of the House, instead of limiting this proposal to financial arrangements for getting the money, would remit to this Committee proposals concerning the way in which public expenditure could be dealt with before the matter reaches this stage. The House is concerned not so much with the number of days taken in discussing the Finance Bill, but about the immense amount of public money which is passed for expenditure without real consideration. We have had complaints this evening from hon. Members on both sides of the House about the inadequate amount of attention which has been given to the consideration of the huge sums of money which have been dealt with this week. We should like an explanation from the Leader of the House about why there is an omission, and why certain important flaws in our procedure have not been considered in this Resolution.
I wish to ask the Leader of the House whether he is satisfied with the procedure which we have gone through in the last fortnight, when the expenditure of nearly £2,000 million of public money has been 342 sanctioned, with a small attendance of hon. Members in the Chamber and little consideration of the suggestions about how this amount should be reduced. I suggest—

Mr. Deputy-Speaker (Sir Robert Gritnston)
Order. I do not think that the hon. Gentleman should go too far in this matter. It is not covered by the Resolution, which remits to the Select Committee the matter of Bills and not Supply expenditure.

§ Mr. Hughes
I do not wish to stray from the strict order of procedure. But I suggest that what I have said should be considered by the Leader of the House and this Resolution should take cognisance of the real grievances which need to be expressed. I hope we may have some assurance—I see that the Leader of the House is anxious to give the House further information—and I should like an assurance from him that the whole of the spending of this huge sum of money will receive considerably more attention.

§ The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. Iain Macleod)
May I put this point to the hon. Member for South Ayrshire (Mr. Emrys Hughes). He will realise that in three minutes' time it will be ten o'clock and, as this is not exempted business, if it is not completed by ten o'clock it falls and we shall have to take it on some other occasion. I am sure that the House would like this matter to go urgently to the Select Committee on Procedure. That certainly was the sense of the House a short time ago.
The hon. Member will realise that am speaking against time. I shall certainly take into consideration the point he has made. We must have the Order referring things to the Select Committee, and clearly, because we are within a week or two of the Budget debate, and after that the consideration of the Finance Bill, it is right that the Select Committee on Procedure should be asked to consider this matter first. There are many other matters which have been put to me, including the one mentioned by the hon. Member for South Ayrshire, and I will gladly consider an order of work, as it were, the precedence of work, after this matter has been disposed of. But unless we take this Resolution fairly swiftly and 343 enable the Select Committee on Procedure to go ahead with its work it will not be possible for the House to consider whether an improvement can be made for the Finance Bill this year.
I hope with that explanation the hon. Member will allow this Motion to go forward. It is coupled with an assurance from me that the point he mentioned, and the other points put to me by hon. Members on both sides of the Committee about the future work of the Select Committee on Procedure, will be most carefully considered when this matter has been disposed of.