§ Baroness BURTON of COVENTRYMy 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 which consumer consultative bodies of those public corporations with statutory responsibility to provide certain goods and services must be consulted by the relevant industry before putting into effect any major proposals relating to main services which affect the persons for whom they are provided.
§ Lord JACQUESMy Lords, the public corporations which have a duty of prior consultation with their consumer consultative bodies on certain major matters of policy are the British Railways Board and Scottish Transport Group in respect of closures, the Post Office, the British Gas Corporation and the Electricity Boards. The Independent Broadcasting Authority is required to consult its Medical Advisory Panel on certain issues. The British Airports Authority is required to provide adequate facilities for consultation on any matter affecting the interest of users of an airport or of people in the locality.
§ Baroness BURTON of COVENTRYMy Lords, that is not quite what I asked. I wonder whether my noble friend can make it a little more clear, to me anyway. What I asked was: Which of those consumer consultative bodies had a right to prior consultation before any major alterations were made which affected the consumer? I think that is slightly different. Could my noble friend elucidate a little more?
§ Lord JACQUESMy Lords, that is the Question which I have answered.
§ Baroness BURTON of COVENTRYMy Lords, then may I see whether my noble friend can help me a little more on the matter of air travellers? Is my noble friend aware that the British Airports Authority, which has statutory responsibility, has established airport consultative committees? Is he further aware that the Civil Aviation Authority, which, equally, has statutory responsibility, has furnished the terms of reference and has established the Airline Users' Committee, of which I am a member? Is my noble friend also aware that this means quite a lot of committees? If it should seem advantageous for airline users that one committee charged with the statutory duty of looking after airline travellers should be established, to whom should application be made?
§ Lord JACQUESMy Lords, first of all, with regard to airports, the British Airports Authority has a statutory duty to provide adequate facilities for consultation on matters affecting the interests of users of an airport and the people in the locality. The Authority complies with that requirement by setting up airport consultative committees with broad terms of reference, limited only in so far as each committee may concern itself with that one airport.
§ Baroness BURTON of COVENTRYMy Lords, I do not know whether it is the noble Lord or myself, but he has just repeated exactly what I told him. May I now try once more? I thought I had made it clear, but obviously I have not. Is the noble Lord aware that there are several committees? There is the committee to which I belong, which comes under the Civil Aviation Authority, which tries to look after travellers. There are the various airport consultative committees under the British Airports Authority, which also looks after air travellers. There are demarcation problems. I am asking my noble friend-and if he could address himself to this I would be grateful-if—it should be deemed advantageous for air travellers to have one committee instead of the many which would look after them, and that this committee should be charged with statutory responsibility for doing that, to whom should such an 451 application be made for the establishment of such a committee?
§ Lord JACQUESMy Lords, I think there are two answers to the question as it is now put. The first is that the airport committees have quite different functions from the airline users' committees. On the whole, the airport committees are very much concerned with the inconvenience to the people living in the locality of the airport, as distinct from the consumer. They also cover the consumer interest, but it is only part of the question. Consequently, the airport committees are usually constituted somewhat differently from the normal consumers' committee that one has with regard to the airlines. So the question as to whether there is one committee raises difficulties.
The second part of the answer is this: on 2nd May, my right honourable friend announced the names of the members of the National Consumers Council. That is less than a week ago. In the few days which have elapsed since that announcement, my right honourable friend has required that Council to examine the consumer interest in all the nationalised industries, including air travel and airports. Surely it would be wise in those circumstances to leave it until that is reviewed.
§ Baroness BURTON of COVENTRYMy Lords, the House is very patient, but the noble Lord will realise that we spent three years on this matter and got nowhere. I am quite aware of all that he has said. Therefore, the only course open to people who think there should be such a statutory committee, and relating to the answers he gave me on the 24th April last, would be that such an application requiring a statutory authority should be made to the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection which, I think, is what he said.
§ Lord JACQUESMy Lords, if the noble Baroness, Lady Burton of Coventry, cannot await the results of the review, and wishes to make haste, I suggest that she does exactly what she has said she will do.
§ Lord LEATHERLANDMy Lords, does my noble friend recall, after all this 452 time, that he mentioned the electrical supply industry? Is he aware that the chairman of the consumers consultative committee in each region is usually, if not automatically, a member of the parent Board? Does he think that a man in that position can serve two masters or two mistresses?
§ Lord JACQUESMy Lords, that is just the kind of question that will be considered by the National Consumers Council in its review.