HC Deb 03 March 1971 vol 812 cc1704-6
38. Sir G. Nabarro

asked the Lord President of the Council whether he will now make a further statement on the review body for pay, pensions, conditions and associated matters for Members of Parliament.

Mr. Whitelaw

I have nothing to add to the answers I gave my hon. Friend on 20th January and 11th February in reply to his Questions about the setting up of the review body.—[Vol. 809, c. 1067; Vol. 811, c. 805.]

Sir G. Nabarro

Is my right hon. Friend aware that on 11th February—

Mr. Speaker

Order. The hon. Gentleman must not rise until I call him. Sir Gerald Nabarro.

Sir G. Nabarro

The noise was so great that I could not hear, Mr. Speaker. I thought that you had called me. I apologise. I will start again. Is my right hon. Friend aware that on 11 th February in answer to a similar Question, my right hon. Friend passed the buck to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, whereupon I tabled a Question to the Prime Minister, who passed the buck back to my right hon. Friend? There is a limit to the patience of hon. Members who, like myself, have been trying to press this matter now for over two years since the right hon. Member for Blackburn (Mrs. Castle) made her first announcement of a review body. It is about time that my right hon. Friend stirred his shanks and gave us a satisfactory answer, which I shall certainly press for, even to the extent of raising the matter on the Adjournment.

Mr. Whitelaw

There is only one comment that I would make in the first instance. Whether I like it or not, I seem to have been stirring my shanks quite a lot in recent days. Apart from that, to take the question seriously, which I do—

Mr. Dan Jones

Yes, indeed.

Mr. Whitelaw

—I am very anxious that, from the point of view of Ministers' and Members' salaries, this review body should be set up at the very earliest opportunity. My responsibility relates especially to my promise that Ministers' and Members' salaries would be referred to it as soon as it was set up. However, there are other problems concerned with setting it up. I can promise that it will be set up as soon as possible. As soon as it is, I will undertake to fulfil the promise that I made to this House. I regret that I have not been able to do so sooner.

Mr. Loughlin

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that most of us are very grateful for that assurance? Having had experience as a junior Minister, I can assure him that junior Ministers have a particularly acute problem. Apart from that, I want to impress upon him that there are hon. Members on this side of the House who, unlike me, have families, and are now facing a really serious financial position. May I ask the right hon. Gentleman to say not merely that he will do it as soon as he can, but that he will look at the possibility of speeding up the process?

Mr. Whitelaw

I am extremely sensitive to the problems and of my responsibility to this House in respect of Ministers' and Members' salaries. I am doing everything in my power to hasten the setting up of the review body. As soon as it is set up, this reference will be made to it.