§ 4.51 p.m.
§ LORD STONHAMMy Lords, with your Lordships' permission I will repeat a Statement which has been made in another place by the Minister of Power. I will use my right honourable friend's own words:
"I am glad to say that the following have accepted my invitation to serve as members of the National Steel Corporation:
Chairman: Lord Melchett, who was Chairman of the Organising Committee and previously a Director of Hill, Samuel & Co. Ltd.
Deputy Chairmen: Dr. H. M. Finniston, Technical Director of C. A. Parsons & Co. Ltd. and Managing Director of International Research and Development Co. Ltd.; Mr. M. Milne-Watson, Chairman of Richard, Thomas & Baldwins Ltd. and Mr. A. J. Peech, Chairman and Managing Director of United Steel Companies Ltd.
Full-time members: Lord Layton, Managing Director of the Steel Company of Wales and Mr. Ron Smith, previously General Secretary of the Union of Post Office Workers.
Part-time members: Mr. Raymond Brookes, Chairman and Managing Director of Guest, Keen & Nettlefolds Ltd; Alderman Sidney Harris, until recently employed on the shop floor in the steel industry; Sir Cyril Musgrave, Chairman of the Iron and Steel Board and Mr. Peter Parker, Director of Booker Bros., McConnell & Co. Ltd., and Chairman of Booker Engineers & Industrial Holdings Ltd.
"Mr. Peech will for the time being remain Chairman of United Steel Companies Ltd. and will after vesting combine his Deputy Chairmanship of the Corporation with an important operational appointment in the industry. Alderman Harris and Sir Cyril Musgrave will each give substantially more time to the work of the Corporation than is normal for a part-time member. Further appointments will be made in due course.
647 "The formal appointments will be made at once. The National Steel Corporation will then be constituted and the Organising Committee will be dissolved.
"The Government have decided that vesting date for the securities of the companies listed in Schedule 1 to the Iron and Steel Act 1967 should be Friday, 28th July 1967. I shall at once be signing an order under Section 9 of the Act to give effect to this decision, which means that the period between Royal Assent and vesting date will be rather shorter than for the nationalisation of any other major industry. The Corporation and all others concerned will have a formidable task to complete the necessary preparations. The ground has, however, already been prepared by the outstanding work of the Organising Committee, to which I would like to pay tribute, and this early vesting date will end uncertainty in the industry and clear the way for the structural changes which are generally agreed to be necessary and urgent."
§ LORD WINDLESHAMMy Lords, this is an important Statement, although in some respects an inadequate one. It does not tell us, for example, for how long the members of the Corporation have been appointed. This is a provision of the Iron and Steel Act—it is in Section 1, subsection (4)—so it must be done very soon, anyway. It is a pity that information has not been included in the Statement. Nor does the Statement itemise the salaries against the names of the individuals, although the scales have already been announced. Nor does it contain a complete list of the members appointed to serve on the Corporation. The Bill was rushed through just before Easter, with the co-operation of the Opposition, so that uncertainty in the industry could be reduced as far as possible; yet here we are, some weeks afterwards, and the Government are still not able to disclose a full list of appointments. Up to twenty members of the Corporation can be appointed, and only nine have been appointed so far.
On this side of the House we are pleased to see that a number of ex 648 perienced people from inside the industry have been appointed to the Corporation—in particular, perhaps, Mr. A. J. Peech, the Chairman of United Steel Companies, Limited, who is this year's President of the British Iron and Steel Federation. The omission of one name stands out, and that is Mr. MacDiarmid, the Chairman of Stewarts and Lloyds, who served as Vice-Chairman of the Organising Committee. Can the noble Lord tell us whether Mr. MacDiarmid was invited to serve on the Corporation?
§ LORD STONHAMMy Lords, I am glad to have the general welcome (if I may put it that way) of the noble Lord, Lord Windlesham, for the Statement and for what the Statement contains. With regard to the terms for which members will be appointed, I can give the noble Lord that information now. Lord Melchett's initial appointment, in accordance with arrangements made when he was appointed to the Organising Committee, will be for two years. The other members, appointed to-day, will serve for the following periods: Dr. Finniston, Mr. Milne-Watson, Lord Layton and Mr. Ron Smith for five years; Mr. Peech, Mr. Brookes, Mr. Harris, Sir Cyril Musgrave and Mr. Parker for three years. They will be eligible for reappointment at the end of their initial periods. A finance member has yet to be appointed. Including the Chairman, the names that I have given total ten. It is the case with regard to the names I have announced that among those who were members of the Organising Committee the name of Mr. Macdiarmid is not included, but on that matter I cannot forecast what may happen in the future.
§ LORD WINDLESHAMMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that reply. In another place, the Left-wing supporters of the Government will be feeling satisfied to-day that they have scored their first political interference in the potential efficiency and independence of the steel industry under public ownership.
§ LORD STONHAMMy Lords, if, by that remark, the noble Lord is referring to my answer in respect of Mr. Macdiarmid, I would say that such an inference cannot be drawn. I simply said that he is not in the list but I would not make any forecast as to the future.