§ 35. Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will give for the longest and most convenient stated period of time the names of Members of both Houses of Parliament who have been appointed by Her Majesty's 1373 Government to state boards and other paid appointments, the salaries now received and details of the appointments held.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Civil Service Department (Mr. David Howell)The information is not readily available and the cost of obtaining it would be disproportionate.
§ Mr. LewisI am amazed at that reply because I can give the Minister the answer without going into any details. Can he explain why the Government attack increases for lower-paid workers when they ask for a few pounds a week extra, while at the same time thousands of pounds extra can be given to the higher-paid civil servants without a murmur coming from the Government? Only last week the Tory-controlled G.L.C. announced increases of £76 per week on salaries of £9,700 a year, and I am still waiting to hear an adverse comment from the Prime Minister or any other Minister about that. Will the Minister condemn such astronomical increases?
§ Mr. HowellAll that is very interesting, but I cannot see how it arises on this Question.
§ Mr. LewisOn a point of order. If the Minister had given me the answer about salaries he would have seen the relevance on my question.