§ 82 and 83. Miss Quennellasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will introduce legislation to make himself responsible for the operations of the British Egg Marketing Board, so as to ensure parliamentary accountability, with particular reference to the conduct of elections;
(2) if he will introduce legislation to require candidates for elections to the British Egg Marketing Board to publish the names of their agents in such elections as is the practice in local government or parliamentary contests.
§ Mr. Scott-HopkinsMy right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. Friend see no need for such legislation since the present arrangements, under which the Boards themselves are responsible for the conduct of their elections, are in line with accepted practice for commercial and professional bodies, and trades unions. My hon. Friend's suggestion that all the operations of a Board should become the responsibility of Ministers would be wholly incompatible with the principle of producer-control, which is of thirty years' standing. In the case of the recent election of a special member of the British Egg Marketing Board, irregularities have been admitted, but they are not of such consequence as to call for amending legislation. The Board have taken steps, including reprimanding employees who apparently had committed a breach of standing instructions, to avoid a repetition.