HC Deb 18 October 1966 vol 734 cc173-4

[Queen's Recommendation signified]

Considered in Committee under Standing Order No. 88 (Money Committees).

[Sir ERIC FLETCHER in the Chair]

Motion made, and Question proposed. That, for the purposes of any Act of the present Session to make provision for the appointment and functions of a Parliamentary Commissioner for the investigation of administrative action taken on behalf of the Crown, it is expedient to authorise—

  1. (a) the charging on and issuing out of the Consolidated Fund of the salary of the Commissioner and of any pension or other benefit granted or in respect of persons who have held office as Commissioner, and
  2. (b) the payment out of moneys provided by Parliament of the expenses of the Commissioner under that Act.—[Mr. MacDermot.]

10.0 p.m.

Sir John Hobson (Warwick and Leamington)

I should like to ask for a few details of the Money Resolution. We have seen a global figure. Can the Financial Secretary be so kind as to give a breakdown of what is likely to be the total staff employed as at present envisaged and its cost, and to say what will be the other expenses than salaries of the Commissioner?

As a small technical point only, the Resolution seems to provide for the expenses of the Commissioner under that Act". The Act, as the Bill will become, provides that payment may be made of the expenses of other persons who are involved in expenses in promoting their complaints. Provision is made for this in Clause 7(3,a). Does the Money Resolution cover the provision of expenses for persons who have complaints to make?

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Niall MacDermot)

The answer to the last point is, "Yes, it does". Those are one of the other items of expenditure about which the right hon. and learned Gentleman asked. As to the initial staff, we have it in mind to make provision initially for the secondment of staff from other Departments. The total staff whom we have in mind, including not only the officers, but all the clerical staff, typists and messengers, totals, I think, 63.

It is a matter largely of judgment, or perhaps of guesswork, how large the flow of work will be in the initial stages, but we believe that the staff will be sufficient to handle reasonably whatever the initial amount of work proves to be. If that staff proves to be excessive, it will be possible, because the officers will be seconded, to send them back to their Departments and to shrink the staff to whatever is the appropriate size.

I hope that we find in due course that the Parliamentary Commissioner will be able to manage with a smaller staff than that, but I envisage that it will be in the initial months that he will probably have the largest flow of work. We think that the total cost of these salaries, together with the expenses which the Commissioner will pay, mostly of witnesses and other persons attending to answer his inquiries, will be within the £200,000 figure.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolution to be reported.

Report to be received Tomorrow.