Mr. J. T. Priceasked the Secretary of State for War if he is yet able to make a statement about the Report of the Corbett Committee appointed to consider the administration of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes.
§ Mr. ProfumoThe Committee, to which the hon. Gentleman refers, was set up in July, 1960, under the chairmanship of Mr. John Corbett, to review the status and operations of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes in the light of the needs of the future all-regular forces. The Committee has reported, after hearing evidence from the Service Departments, from N.A.A.F.I. and from other interested parties, and after visits to Service and N.A.A.F.I. Establishments at home and overseas, during which they met representatives of Service men and Service wives. The Service Departments have broadly accepted the recommendations of the Committee.
The Committee have found that N.A.A.F.I. is meeting an essential need of the Services, and that the basic concept of the N.A.A.F.I. as a specialist purveyor to the Services is right, and should continue. N.A.A.F.I. is required to operate wherever the Services are deployed throughout the world and without regard to the profitability of a particular establishment. Moreover, N.A.A.F.I. must continue to be restricted to dealing with the Services, their families and U.K. based civilians employed 90W overseas by the Service Departments. N.A.A.F.I. is also an important source of funds for Service welfare activities. These funds depend upon the continued economic viability of N.A.A.F.I. To this end the Committee have recommended that N.A.A.F.I. should retain its present position in Service establishments and bases.
The Committee noted that Servicemen told them that they and their families can now afford to satisfy needs which, in line with those of the whole nation, have become more sophisticated and diversified. There is a growing demand that N.A.A.F.I. should provide facilities to enable a greater diversity of trading to be undertaken.
The Committee found that N.A.A.F.I. had made great efforts to meet the increased needs of its customers. The success of these efforts had, however, been limited occasionally by the present method of obtaining policy decisions from the Service Departments, by having to compete for facilities with other urgent calls on the resources available to the Service Departments and by some over-straining of the N.A.A.F.I. as a result of the growing diversification of the trade. The Committee consider that a modification of the structure and procedure at the top would put N.A.A.F.I. in a better position to avail itself of additional opportunities to improve the services that it provides for the Forces.
To this end, the Committee have recommended that the N.A.A.F.I. Council, comprising representatives of the three Service Departments, should be reduced from 12 to 7 or 8 members of the standing to give or obtain rapid decisions on policy issues; that the Council, while retaining the ultimate authority, should leave the Board of Management the greatest possible freedom in the day-to-day running of the Corporation; and that the Board of Management should be strengthened by inclusion of additional experts.
The Committee examined the provision, maintenance, decoration and furnishing of canteens. They recognised that it was not their function to advise on priorities vis-à-vis other claims on the resources available to the Services, but recommended that a programme of improvements be undertaken, 91W in which each canteen should be considered as a whole.
The Committee suggested that the Service Departments and N.A.A.F.I. could, with benefit, review the working of their machinery for ascertaining and dealing with customer opinion. They drew attention to the importance of the views of wives in the light of the increasing part which family trade is playing in N.A.A.F.I.'s turn-over.
My noble Friend the First Lord of the Admiralty, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Air and I are grateful for the thorough and helpful review made by the Corbett Committee, endorse the Committee's view that N.A.A.F.I. is performing satisfactorily an indispensable and developing service to the forces and are certain that the Committee's Report will lead to further desirable developments.