HC Deb 16 February 1967 vol 741 cc799-800
Q10. Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

asked the Prime Minister what functions are now being performed by the Minister of Land and Natural Resources; and what stage has been reached in the dissolution of this Department.

The Prime Minister

I will send the right hon. Gentleman a copy of The Ministry of Land and Natural Resources (Dissolution) Order, 1967, Sir.

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

While thanking the Prime Minister for that habitually courteous reply, may I ask him whether the winding-up of this separate Department does not mean that he accepts that those of us who said that he was wrong to set up a separate Ministry of Land without planning powers have been shown to be right; and how much has this experiment cost the taxpayer?

The Prime Minister

If the right hon. Gentleman puts down a Question on the second part of his supplementary question, I will get him an answer. It does not prove what he thinks it proves, because during the period that this Ministry has been a separate Ministry it was possible for a senior Minister to concentrate on such valuable Measures as the Land Commission Bill. My right hon. Friend has also been very much concerned with the Bill on leasehold. The mere fact that the right hon. Gentleman considers that to be legalised robbery does not reflect the views of this side of the House or the House as a whole or, I believe, the one million leaseholders affected by it.

Mr. Rippon

Can the Prime Minister say what will happen to the Ministers concerned when their Department is dissolved, and why it is necessary for a Labour Government to have four times as many Ministers for housing and land matters as the Conservative Government?

The Prime Minister

As I informed the House many months ago, the Ministers concerned will be assimilated into the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. I have already given some reasons this afternoon in respect of Scotland, for example, why we have had a much heavier load and have had to catch up with some of the things which the Conservatives left us with. I do not think that the figures which I gave were contested even by the right hon. Gentleman.