§ Mr. Arnold Shawasked the Prime Minister whether he has received the report of the Prime Minister's Committee on Local Government Rules of Conduct.
§ The Prime MinisterYes, Sir. Lord Redcliffe-Maud's committee, whose appointment was announced by my predecessor on 2nd October 1973, submitted its report to me on 17th May 1974. The report is being published as a Command Paper this afternoon and copies are now available in the Vote Office.
Right hon. and hon. Members will be able to see for themselves that in less than eight months the committee has produced a thorough and comprehensive report. I should like to express my gratitude to the chairman and members of the committee for their achievement, and for the expenditure of their time and effort which it must have required.
The committee's findings and recommendations will now need to be the subject of consultation with local authority associations, staff associations and representatives of other interested parties. The findings will clearly have a bearing on the work of the Royal Commission on Standards of Conduct in Public Life, and the consultations which my right hon. Friends will be having about the Royal 237W Commission will need to take Lord Redcliffe-Maud's report into account. We also need to consider, in consultation with those concerned, whether there are recommendations in the Redcliffe-Maud Committee's report which can and should be implemented at once, without waiting for the Royal Commission's report.