§ Mr. GowOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I rise to seek your guidance on a matter affecting the rights of Back Benchers and the tabling of Questions to Ministers and their answers. On 5th November the Minister of State, Treasury, in a Written Answer to me, stated that the salary of one of the special advisers to the Chancellor of the Exchequer—Professor Lord Kaldor—was £14,000 a year. In an oral answer to me on 11th December last the Prime Minister stated that the total cost of the special advisers at No. 10 Downing Street paid for out of public funds was approximately £43,000 a year.
I have since tabled Questions to various members of the Government, and I received from the Secretary of State for Energy, in answer to a Question about the cost of special advisers in his Department, the following Written Answer:
It is not the practice to specify, either individually or in total, the salaries of special advisers appointed to serve in a particular Department".—{Official Report, 10th February, 1975; Vol. 905, c. 144.]In view of the previous answers when the individual salary of Lord Kaldor and the total salaries of those employed at No. 10 Downing Street were given to me, it is manifestly not correct to say that it is not the practice to give that information.Further, Mr. Speaker, as civil servants' salaries are within the legitimate area of ministerial responsibility, and as special advisers are, on the Government's admission, employed as civil servants, is it not legitimate for Back Benchers to ask questions about the salaries of civil servants, and is it not a defiance of the rights of Back Benchers for Ministers to refuse to answer those questions? Is it not also the duty of Back Benchers to scrutinise the Executive and, above all, to be the guardians of public expenditure? Will you advise us, please, Mr. Speaker, how we should fulfil our traditional role as scrutineers in this regard?
§ Mr. SpeakerI am very much obliged to the hon. Gentleman for giving me notice of the point of order he wished to raise. I fear that I have to rule, as my predecessors have ruled many times, that the content of ministerial answers is not a matter over which the Chair has any 653 control. No doubt notice of what the hon. Gentleman said will have been taken by those concerned.
§ Mr. BurdenFurther to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. Would it not be desirable for a Select Committee of the House to go into the question of what should be disclosed by Government and what should not? This is an important matter, which affects the whole country, and it should be given mature consideration in the absence of Government control.
§ Mr. SpeakerI am sure that those responsible will take note of the hon. Gentleman's words. I do not know, but it might be a matter for the Select Committee on Procedure.