§ 45 and 46. Sir G. Nabarroasked the Lord President of the Council (1) when and where the review body dealing with Members of Parliament's salaries, emoluments and allowances in cash or kind, will sit; how Members may give oral evidence; in what form the report of the investigating body will be published; and whether the first report will be available before Easter;
1067 (2) whether he will now publish the names of the persons comprising the review body dealing with Members of Parliament's salaries, emoluments and allowances in cash or kind; whether Privy Councillors and Members of Parliament in both Houses will sit on the body; and whether party political balance is to be accomplished.
§ Mr. WhitelawThe composition of the review body is still under consideration, but my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister hopes to be able to announce the membership in the near future. Detailed arrangements in connection with the review of Members' pay will need to be considered when the Chairman of the review body has been appointed. It is not possible at this stage to forecast the timing of any reports.
§ Sir G. NabarroWill my right hon. Friend bear in mind the inordinate delays which have occurred in recent years in dealing with this pressing matter—not only the question of Members' pay, but the deplorable conditions of Members' allowances, accommodation, services and everything which goes to make up efficiency in a Member of Parliament's work which is thoroughly derogated by both this and the last Government? Cannot the matter be treated with some urgency, not in a dilatory fashion?
§ Mr. WhitelawI think that my hon. Friend is being somewhat less than fair on the question of allowances. Both the previous Government and the present Government have made considerable improvements in Members' allowances. I feel that the step taken—and I fully recognise the important part played in this by the right hon. Member for Sowerby (Mr. Houghton)—in setting up a review body and agreeing to refer the whole question of Ministers' and Members' pay and allowances to that body, as was said at the time when we had a debate on the right hon. Gentleman's Bill, once in every Parliament of normal length, is a very considerable step forward in a matter which this House has always found extremely difficult to deal with. I hope, therefore, that my hon. Friend will feel that this matter of allowances is being tackled by the present Government, as it was by the previous Government, as is also the major matter to which he refers.
§ Mr. HefferWill the right hon. Gentleman assure us that when the review body discusses the whole question it will also look into the status of hon. Members' secretaries? The position at the moment is most unsatisfactory, and many hon. Members feel that their secretaries should receive emoluments, and have conditions of work, similar to Civil Service conditions, but that their secretaries should be appointed by hon. Members themselves, obviously on the basis of the right type of secretary that the hon. Member wants.—[Laughter.] This is a very serious matter. Can the right hon. Gentleman give us an assurance that this question of secretarial status will be looked into by this body?
§ Mr. WhitelawI think that I should be wise, in responding to what I recognise to be a very proper and important point put by the hon. Member, to say that I should like to consider further whether this is a matter appropriate to be considered by the review body or whether the question of providing accommodation in this building for hon. Members' secretaries is not far more a matter for the Services Committee and for ourselves.