HL Deb 07 July 1966 vol 275 cc1180-1

3.10 p.m.

VISCOUNT MASSEREENE AND FERRARD

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

[The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the amount of National Assistance paid out to seamen's families during the shipping strike.]

LORD SORENSEN

My Lords, approximately £56,000 up to June 28, the latest date for which figures are available. All this was for the assistance of the families and not the men, apart from an extra £800 paid to single men in very urgent need. Some 29,000 seamen or over were on strike, and in relation to that number the amount I have mentioned is not large.

VISCOUNT MASSEREENE AND FERRARD

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his Answer. Is he aware that while many people appreciate the contribution made by National Assistance to the alleviation of hardship, they consider that in a strike against the public interest, and particularly a strike which is prolonged in defiance of recommendations of a Government inquiry, moneys paid from the public purse to the strikers' families should be recoverable in law against the union concerned? Further, could the noble Lord bring this point of view to the attention of the Royal Commission which is now looking into all aspects of trade union law?

LORD SORENSEN

My Lords, I dare say that there are a number who think as the noble Viscount appears to think, but the great majority of people would not wish to inflict hardship upon innocent wives and children. Certainly since 1948 it has not been the custom to try to secure redress in the way the noble Viscount suggests. I would imagine that, in all the circumstances, most noble Lords in this House and most people throughout the country would prefer to leave things as they are.

VISCOUNT MASSEREENE AND FERRARD

My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that he has completely misunderstood me? My object is not, of course, to inflict hardship on wives and families; my object is to ensure that if the unions, against the public interest, bring the men out on strike, the poor public should not have to support the men's families, but that their union should.

LORD SORENSEN

My Lords, I would point out to the noble Lord, again, that the total amount of £56,000 is really quite small, and amounts to less than £2 per head for the whole of the six weeks for which the men were out. At the same time, I am sure the point which he has made so eloquently will be observed in the right quarter.

LORD WILLIS

My Lords, would not the Minister agree that the provision of National Assistance in cases of hardship is not a privilege, as is implied by this Question, but a right?