§ Mr. Llewellynasked the Attorney-General whether he is in a position to make a statement about the future of the Public Trustee's Office.
§ The Attorney-GeneralYes, Sir. My noble Friend the Lord Chancellor has received and considered the Report of Sir Maurice Holmes's Committee on the Office of the Public Trustee and it is being published today.
Her Majesty's Government accept the Committee's view that the Public Trustee can still provide a useful service to the community and agree with most of the recommendations made in the Report. But the Government cannot agree with the Committee's proposal that the Public Trustee should be financed partly by means of an Exchequer grant, though they agree that the office should be put on a sounder financial basis by carrying out certain other proposals made by the Committee.
After careful consideration it has been decided to close the branch office of the Public Trustee at Manchester as soon as practicable. As the Committee point out, this will mean a substantial saving in administrative costs, which will be to the advantage of the beneficiaries of the Public Trustee as a whole.
Proposals to improve the method of charging fees will require legislation, which the Government intend to introduce in due course.