§ Mr. John Peyton (Yeovil) (by private notice)asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a further statement about the effect of the threatened Civil Service strike.
§ The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Leon Brittan)About three-quarters of the normal tax revenues are currently being received by the Exchequer. There is no risk to overall economic management, as the money owed to the Government will eventually be paid over. At most there will be a short-term increase in the money supply, which will subsequently be corrected. The main effect at the moment is inconvenience to the public. But there would be serious damage to the prospects for a further reduction in inflation if the Government conceded an excessive pay settlement.
§ Mr. PeytonWill my right hon. and learned Friend resist the temptation that Governments often feel to keep such difficult matters under wraps and, instead, take the public into their confidence so far as possible and certainly keep the House informed? Does he agree that persistence by those who are public servants and widely respected in harassing those whom they should be serving is likely to be counter-productive and to diminish sympathy and, indeed, call attention to the special advantages that they enjoy, which are not widely shared?
§ Mr. BrittanI agree with my right hon. Friend on both points. I see no reason why the public should not be kept informed on what is a matter of public concern and interest. I also agree with him that actions that have the effect of delaying people at the ports and interfering with immigration procedures, to name but two examples, cannot assist the reputation of public servants who have an important and valuable duty to do.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon (Ashton-under-Lyne)Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman tell the House how much revenue is actually being withheld and how much he estimates the borrowing requirement will increase as a result of this action? What effect will it have in numerical terms, so far as he can estimate, on the money supply? What damage will be caused to an already rather injured medium-term financial strategy?
Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman also say how he intends to carry out the extra borrowing that may be required? Will it be done through Treasury bills or the sale of gilts? From a Government who are always lecturing industry on how to behave—[HON. MEMBERS: "Too long."] This is an important point. From a Government who are always lecturing industry on how to behave, one of the worst aspects of the situation is that an employer should not give his employees—civil servants in this case—the feeling that they are disliked by the employer. This is an important matter to which the right hon. and learned Gentleman will have to return.
§ Mr. BrittanI can assure the right hon. Gentleman that there is no question of the Government's disliking their employees. A serious dispute has arisen. That is a different matter. With regard to the more factual questions that the right hon. Gentleman asked, the position is that the deterioration in the central Government borrowing requirement due to the strike is of the order of £½ billion to £¾ billion.
22 With regard to the financial effects, there has been no extra borrowing of any significant size. The Government were planning to borrow to the extent required in any event, at the moment. There will have been a very temporary increase in the money supply, the extent of which cannot be quantified at the moment, but it will be small. It will, on the other hand, be correspondingly reduced when the money comes in. I see no reason why it should have any effect whatever on the medium-term financial strategy.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. This is an extension of Question Time. I propose to call two more hon. Members from either side.
§ Mr. Dudley Smith (Warwick and Leamington)Will my right hon. and learned Friend confirm that Civil Service employees have had a 50 per cent. pay increase over the past two years? Is he aware that thousands of my constituents would be grateful for such an increase, as, indeed, would the constituents of all hon. Members? Does he not think that in the circumstances it is time that the civil servants showed some responsibility?
§ Mr. BrittanI very much hope that those involved in the dispute will listen to what hon. Members say. My hon. Friend rightly says that the average increase over the past two years has been 50 per cent.
§ Mr. K. J. Woolmer (Batley and Morley)If the right hon. and learned Gentleman is so convinced that civil servants have been given unduly favoured treatment in pay, why has he suspended the pay research system? Will he say what steps the Government, as the employer, are taking in relation to Inland Revenue staff today and in the course of this week, or what proposals they have? Does he not agree that the Government's handling of the dispute is highly likely to lead to the most serious situation between employers and employees that the Civil Service has ever seen?
§ Mr. BrittanI do not agree with the hon. Gentleman's third point. On the second point, staff in local collection offices are refusing to bank cheques that they have received. The first stage of the temporary relief from duty process has started today in some local collection offices.
It would be a mistake to think that pay research has always been implemented automatically by Governments of either party. It has happened in only a minority of cases. With regard to the move forward, these are matters essentially for my noble Friend the Lord President. My right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer made clear last week that we want to find a system that will be genuinely acceptable.
§ Mr. William van Straubenzee (Wokingham)Does my right hon. and learned Friend appreciate that in common, I suspect, with other hon. Members I have received representations at the weekend from responsible Civil Service constituents expressing the view that the offer, in cash terms, is very reasonable, particularly given the economic state of the nation? They are, however, interested in and concerned about the very mechanics mentioned by my right hon. and learned Friend in his last answer—mechanics for the future. Will he consider, in concert with his noble Friend, giving greater publicity to the words that he has spoken and that Ministers have spoken about their hopes for the future in that regard?
§ Mr. BrittanI welcome the opportunity that this question gives to do what my hon. Friend says. We want to reach agreement on an orderly and agreed way forward. I should like to take the opportunity to confirm that many people in the Civil Service take the view that my hon. Friend has reported. Many are working in a perfectly ordinary, orderly and responsible manner.
§ Mr. Clement Freud (Isle of Ely)Will the Minister give an assurance that cases raised by hon. Members dealing with hardship caused by the industrial dispute will be dealt with expeditiously by his Department?
§ Mr. BrittanI can assure the hon. Gentleman that any such cases will be considered expeditiously.