§ 3.7 p.m.
§ THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (LORD MANCROFT)My Lords, this Order, which is made under the Statistics of Trade Act, 1947, relates to a Census of Distribution which is to be taken in 1958 in respect of business done in 1957. It will be the second time that a Census of Distribution has been taken in this country, the first one having been taken a few years ago in respect of the year 1950. The Order is concerned only with one very limited aspect of the Census: namely, the question of the possible disclosure of information obtained at the Census about individual undertakings. The Statistics of Trade Act, 1947, itself contains stringent provisions restricting the disclosure of information of this kind, but it allows disclosure to other Government Departments on the authority of my right honourable friend the President of the Board of Trade.
The purpose of the present Order is to forbid disclosure of this kind, and its effect will be to deny to my right honourable friend the President of the Board of Trade the power to authorise disclosure to other Government Departments. The making of the Order will enable the Board of Trade to give traders the strongest possible assurances that their returns will be treated in strict confidence. We think it essential to reassure traders on this point, in order to allay the uneasiness they might otherwise feel and to ensure that the Census is carried out successfully. I beg to move.
§ Moved, That the Draft Census of Distribution (1958) (Restriction on Disclosure) Order, 1956, reported from the Special Orders Committee on Wednesday the 14th instant, be approved.—(Lord Mancroft.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.