§ 47. Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity whether she has now received the report from the National Board for Prices and Incomes on the question of top salaries referred to the Board on 1st 36 July 1968; when she expects to publish this; and whether she will make a statement.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity (Mr. Roy Hattersley)My right hon. Friend has now received the report, which will probably be published on 25th March. She will be making a statement in due course.
§ Mr. LewisI thank my hon. Friend for that reply. May we be assured that the statement my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will make, I assume in the House, will not be leaked to the Press before she makes it to the House?
§ Mr. HattersleyMy hon. Friend can certainly be assured that the contents of the report will not be leaked either by my right hon. Friend, or by any member of her Department, or by anybody else concerned with them.
§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneCan the hon. Gentleman now tell us whether the 3½ per cent. ceiling will apply to the principle of comparability in this instance?
§ Mr. HattersleyIf I did, my hon. Friend the Member for West Ham, North (Mr. Arthur Lewis) would accuse me of leaking the report before it was published.