§ Q4. Mr. George Gardinerasked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied with the co-ordination between the Lord President and the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales on the proposals for devolution of power from Westminster.
§ The Prime MinisterI would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave on 7th November to my hon. Friend the Member for West Lothian (Mr. Dalyell).—[Vol. 880, c. 205]
§ Mr. GardinerDoes the Prime Minister accept that there is a very real English interest in this matter? Furthermore, will he acknowledge that though there is a great number of English Members of the House who would happily see the Scots taking direct control over their own health, housing, education and so on, it would be quite intolerable for this to happen, for example, when Scottish Members were exercising a vote relating to English health, housing and education?
§ The Prime MinisterThe hon. Gentleman is making a serious point. Of course English Ministers, including my right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council, who is in charge of these particular discussions, will be involved in matters affecting England. As the hon. Gentleman will be aware, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment is very closely identified with these 240 matters because of particular proposals which have been put forward in past times and fairly recently for further devolution in England itself.
§ Mr. William HamiltonWhen the Ministers concerned get together to discuss the problems of devolution, will they consider the assertion being made that Scotland has a balance-of-payments surplus? Is my right hon. Friend able to supply the House with any information at all to confirm that impression? I understand that there is no scintilla of evidence anywhere to the effect that it is true.
§ The Prime MinisterI agree with my hon. Friend that in the past most calculations have suggested that what he says is right. But there was an authoritative treatment of this question attached, I think, to one of the minority reports of the Royal Commission, which dealt with economic questions and economic relations between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom. But economic matters, including what my hon. Friend describes as a balance of payments across the border, will be very much questions for consideration by the devolution unit and by my right hon. Friends in the consultations.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. We must proceed to the real business of the day.