§ 36. Mr. Robert Atkinsasked the Paymaster General if he has been satisfied with the co-ordination of Government publicity during the last month.
§ Mr. AtkinsDoes my right hon. Friend think that Ministers have done enough to get over to industry the value of the cut in the minimum lending rate?
§ Mr. PymI think that industrialists are aware of it. Ministers have made every effort to get this message across, and the Confederation of British Industry has made an estimate of the value of the cut. I understand that the figure put on it was £700 million. We are doing our best in that regard.
§ Mr. John SilkinIs the Paymaster General aware that the Opposition are very satisfied with the co-ordination of Government publicity during the past month, and in particular would like greater co-ordination of publicity on the more interventionist theories of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food rather than on those of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer?
§ Mr. StokesDoes my right hon. Friend remember the well-known dictum of Lord Melbourne about Cabinet responsibility:
It is not much matter which we say, but mind, we must all say the same."?Does my right hon. Friend agree with that dictum?
§ Mr. PymI have not so far cast myself in the role of conductor, but perhaps I ought to consider the possibility.
§ Mr. Ioan EvansAs the details of the Budget were reported in the Sunday press prior to the Budget, will the right hon. Gentleman say whether that was co-ordinated or unco-ordinated publicity?
§ Mr. PymThe remarkable thing about the so-called leaks was not their accuracy, but their inaccuracy.
§ 37. Mr. Adleyasked the Paymaster General if he has any plans to amend the arrangements for disseminating Government information; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AdleyIs my right hon. Friend satisfied with the co-ordination of information about the incentives that the Government have made available to small businesses? Is he aware that there is a great deal in the Budget—and, indeed, in previous policies announced by the Government—for small businesses, and that many of them are perhaps not aware of it? Will he consider ways of improving the position?
§ Mr. PymI am doing just that. With previous Budgets my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced his decisions to help small businesses, and he extended that policy in his most recent Budget. It is Government policy to help small businesses and to encourage new ones to start. We shall launch a programme to make more widely known the changes that have been made to benefit those who start small businesses.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisBearing in mind the current level of public expenditure on Government publicity, and the current unpopularity of the Government, what criteria of success should we have in mind when judging the Government's publicity?
§ Mr. PymIn the last analysis it is the success of Government policies that will count. The presentation of those policies is closely related to those policies. Everybody knows the difficult time that the country is going through and the depth of the world recession. We have many important decisions to take, and obviously people are hoping that we shall be reasonably successful in the reasonably near future. We have to present the policies of the Government in the light of that situation.
§ Mr. MarlowWhen it comes to disseminating Government information, will my right hon. Friend take great care to have a major political initiative on Thursday, so that the public can have some proper political news and not be bored stiff by the posturing that is likely to take place from the Jenkinsites on that day?
§ Mr. PymIt is very difficult to arrange news in such ways. Events have a habit of unfolding. However. I take note of my hon. Friend's recommendation.