§ 3.16 p.m.
Baroness VICKERSMy 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 to state when they propose to publish the views of the Government's Inter-Departmental Working Party on Homeless Young People.
§ Lord WELLS-PESTELLMy Lords, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Social Services said in another place on Tuesday last, 29th June, that he will make a Statement regarding publication of the Report of the Working Group on Homeless Young People in the near future.
Baroness VICKERSMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that reply. Will he consider having the Report published for the general public and persons like myself who are interested in running centres for homeless people, so that we may have full knowledge when it comes to discussion of the final paper?
§ Lord WELLS-PESTELLMy Lords, I have some sympathy with the point of view of the noble Baroness, and this matter had been discussed at some length. I wish to remind your Lordships that six Government Departments were involved in this Working Group, together with a representative of the local authorities association, plus a number of people representing voluntary effort in this field. The Report covers a very wide area of discussion and the discussion has been in depth. It raises questions such as the housing aspect, the provision of hostel accommodation of various kinds, and it involves local authorities. There is the question of manpower expenditure, and my right honourable friend feels that he must give his colleagues in the other Government Departments an opportunity of considering in detail what the Report says, what recommendations it makes, and how best to implement them, before publishing the Report for general discussion.
§ Baroness WOOTTON of ABINGERMy Lords, may I remind my noble friend that we are supposed to be engaged in open Government and that the more interesting this Report is, and the wider it goes, the more important it is for the public to know what it contains. I quite understand that he no doubt feels that he must give the Government Departments concerned first look, but will he not accept that the scope of the Report and the urgency of this problem make it abundantly necessary that the Report should be published at the earliest possible opportunity?
§ Lord WELLS-PESTELLMy Lords, the Report has been in the hands of my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Social Services for only about a month now, and therefore it has been in the hands of other Government Departments for the same period. Bearing in mind what Government Departments have to do in a variety of fields these days, that is not a long time. I should have thought that there is some merit in my right honourable friend getting the views of his colleagues in other Departments, so that when the announcement is made with regard to publication he will be in a position to give some comments and observations on the recommendations and what is to be done to implement them.
§ The Lord Bishop of LEICESTERMy Lords, pending that publication, has the Minister any further information to give the House on the subject raised by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London in this connection concerning the co-operation, or non co-operation, of British Rail in providing proper information services for the homeless, particularly at Euston Station?
§ Lord WELLS-PESTELLMy Lords, in reply to the right reverend Prelate, I have to say that the British Railways Board have said that they are unable to agree to the proposed establishment of an information booth at Euston. The situation, in view of their decision, which we regard to be a situation of some urgency, means that we have had to do some re-thinking. I would hope that your Lordships will feel, because of my reply, that I should not he pressed further at this stage on this matter.
§ Lord HAILSHAM of SAINT MARYLEBONEMy Lords, does not the noble Lord understand that his last answer will cause very deep concern in many quarters of the House? Will the noble Lord draw special attention to the problems of Euston and the metropolis raised by the book Johnnie Go Home, and will he not ask British Rail to accept the sort of social responsibility that we always used to be assured would he shown by nationalised industries?
§ Lord WELLS-PESTELLMy Lords, I am grateful for the noble and learned 870 Lord's intervention on this matter. Their decision causes us some very real concern, and I will convey to my right honourable friend precisely what the noble and learned Lord has said.