§ Q4. Mr. Sheldonasked the Prime Minister if he will define the extent of the commitment of the Government to proposals published in the form of a Green Paper.
§ The Prime MinisterAs my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Economic Affairs explained to the House on 5th April, 1967, at the time of the publication of the first Green Paper, this is intended as a means of putting forward proposals for full consultation and public discussion, while policy is still in a formative stage.—[Vol. 744, c. 245.]
§ Mr. SheldonDoes my right hon. Friend agree that one of the main aspects 1219 of the usefulness of a Green Paper is that Government Ministers are uncommitted and so the debate can be extremely full and thorough? If there is any commitment by the Government, this will reduce very seriously the value of a Green Paper. Can my right hon. Friend deny that there is this tightening of the commitment of the Government to the proposals?
§ The Prime MinisterThere is no change in the situation from the date which I have mentioned. A Green Paper is put forward to set out the Government's views on how the matter might be tackled, to invite views not only of hon. Members but of all experts and interests in that field all over the country. This means that we then have their collective wisdom, to use a right hon. Gentleman's phrase, and we can decide what the policy ought to be. In the case of one Green Paper put forward on this basis, as a result of consultations the Government decided not to proceed further on the lines indicated. In the case of the Green Paper on roads, it is of value that there should be discussions by economic planning councils, by local authorities, and by road users all over the country. That is the basis of a Green Paper. Clearly, individual Ministers do not enter into public and contentious discussions about it, if that is what my hon. Friend was asking.
§ Mr. BiffenDoes not the Prime Minister think that it would have been more prudent to have published "In Place of Strife" as a Green Paper rather than as a White Paper?
§ The Prime MinisterNo, certainly not. "In Place of Strife" was published as a White Paper because it was a statement of the Government's decision on how this matter should be handled in legislation and other ways, and it remains our position. We are having consultations with the T.U.C., but I think that it would have been regarded as an act of cowardice, similar to that of the Conservative Party which did nothing at all in 13 years and even refused an inquiry, if, after Donovan, all we had produced was a Green Paper.
§ Mr. ThorpeWe read in the Press that arising out of the 3rd April Cabinet meeting the Prime Minister indicated that Green Papers must bind Ministers as 1220 much as White Papers. Do we take it that that was the decision that was taken in the Cabinet and also that that was one of the matters to which the Cabinet agreed that publicity should be given?
§ The Prime MinisterThe answer to the first part of the supplementary question is, "Yes, Sir". The right hon. Gentleman has an obsession about this meeting and, indeed, has yet another Question relating to it on the Order Paper, which we may or may not reach. In relation to Green Papers the position is this. There is no collective obligation on the Government that a Green Paper put forward will be the basis of legislation. It is put out for discussion and for consultation. This is a useful exercise in having full discussion by all concerned in the matter. On the other hand, that public discussion should not get to the point where individual Ministers take up different sides in that discussion.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterIs not the substance of the right hon. Gentleman's answer that the contents of a Green Paper are no more likely to be acted on than the contents of the Government's election manifestos?
§ The Prime MinisterThe contents of a Green Paper are issued, as I have said, for consultation, unlike right hon. Gentlemen's opposite who, without putting out a Green Paper and in defiance of their election pledges, introduced the Rent Act.
§ Mr. EnglishIf a Green Paper is issued for the purposes of consultation, as at one time a White Paper used to be, what is the object of a White Paper?
§ The Prime MinisterA White Paper indicates the broad lines of the legislation the Government intend to introduce and, very often, of executive action that will be taken. Many of the details of the legislation should be a matter for consultation. They are indeed in the matter of the White Paper published in January of this year, to which reference has been made.
§ Sir Knox CunninghamHouse of Lords reform?
§ The Prime MinisterWe have certainly dealt with the question of the responsibility of the Opposition for the 1221 House of Lords White Paper. I referred on that occasion to hon. Members on both sides of the House and to the voting record of the Leader of the Opposition, who was committed to the proposals.