§ Q4. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Prime Minister whether, in the interest of greater expedition, he will consider as an alternative to the proposed specialist committees, after consultation with the Opposition, the enlarging of the numerical strength of the Estimates Committee and the widening of its terms of reference.
§ The Prime MinisterAs my hon. Friend knows this matter is to be discussed through the usual channels and certainly this variant is not excluded.
§ Mr. HamiltonIs my right hon. Friend aware that that Answer gives me, at any rate, a fair amount of satisfaction? Can he say why his objectives, as outlined in his speech last week, could not be achieved by this method, particularly in view of the fact that it would avoid the kind of discussions that he has to undertake with the Opposition?
§ The Prime MinisterIt is right that all possible alternatives should be examined in the discussions which we hope to be having shortly. This is one possibility, but there has been some pressure in the House for separate committees on individual subjects or Departments. Therefore, I think that we should look at all these possibilities, certainly not excluding the idea of widening and strengthening the Estimates Committee.
Mr. Gresham CookeWould the Prime Minister consider setting up within the Estimates Committee an economic policy committee through which we could cross-examine the intentions of the Treasury?
§ The Prime MinisterThis is a very bad moment to talk about the intentions of the Treasury when we have not yet heard the Budget statement. But I should have thought that the House has abundant opportunities to debate economic policies, and the view expressed by many hon. Members on both sides of the House is that there are not corresponding facilities in other fields of national and, indeed, international policy.