§ The Minister of Social Security (Miss Margaret Herbison)With permission, Mr. Speaker, I should like to make a statement.
As the House knows, the Ministry of Social Security, of which I am proud to be the first Minister, came into being on Saturday. Within the Ministry there is to be set up a Supplementary Benefits Commission with responsibility for the administration, under regulations made by the Minister, of the new supplementary benefits which will come into payment at the end of November.
The members of the Commission will be chosen both for their knowledge of the men, women and children for whom the new scheme is to cater and for their interest in social problems.
I am happy to announce that I am appointing Mr. Richard Hayward, at present Secretary-General of the Civil Service National Whitley Council (Staff Side), to be the Chairman of the new Commission. He is highly respected in his present position and has taken a great interest in social questions. He will not 1716 be available to take up his new appointment until the end of November.
In the meantime, Lord Runcorn, the present Chairman of the National Assistance Board, has kindly agreed to act also as Chairman of the Commission, although he had informed me some time ago that he would not wish to be Chairman of the new Commission. I should like to pay a very warm tribute to his work as Chairman of the Board, and to the way in which he has co-operated in the preparation of the new scheme of supplementary benefits.
The appointment of the Deputy Chairman and other members of the Commission will be made shortly.
§ Miss PikeWe on this side of the House would like to welcome Mr. Richard Hayward to his new, important and very challenging task. The House has already had an opportunity to welcome the right hon. Lady under her new title. Is she aware that our main criticism has been that the Government have been lacking in vision in not providing as a statutory responsibility the initiating of wide-ranging research in the seeking out of need?
Nevertheless, we are in broad agreement with the present arrangements. We believe that the new Commissioner will bring to his task those qualities of vigour, imagination and experience which are vitally needed at this time.
We should also like to associate ourselves with the warm tribute to Lord Runcorn, who has brought to it great qualities of humanity, understanding and imagination in the great tradition of the old National Assistance Board.
§ Miss HerbisonI should like to thank the hon. Lady for everything that she has said. Perhaps I should take this opportunity of asking all Members, on both sides of the House, during the Recess, when they are in their own constituencies, to do as much as possible to let their constituents know about the new supplementary benefits and the more generous treatment of capital and of disregards, because we do want everyone who can have help to have it under our new scheme.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterMay I also associate myself with the right hon. Lady's 1717 and my hon. Friend's well-deserved tribute to Lord Runcorn, and also, as one who, when at the Treasury, worked with Mr. Hayward, congratulate the right hon. Lady on the choice of this wise and humane administrator?
§ Mr. LubbockMay I also associate myself and my hon. and right hon. Friends with the tribute paid to Lord Runcorn, who has been extremely helpful to hon. Members in the performance of their job, and may I ask the right hon. Lady, in connection with the publicity which is to be given to the new scales of benefits, what publication she intends to issue during the Recess so that we can carry out the task which she has mentioned?
§ Miss HerbisonDuring August we do not intend to have publicity, because it is not a very good month. But, some time in September, we shall be beginning what I can only describe as a real onslaught of publicity. We have already decided that any material used for that will be given to all hon. Members so that they may use it in their constituencies.
§ Several Hon. Members rose——
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder.