§ Dame Irene Wardasked the Prime Minister whether the Women's National Commission is to be reconvened.
§ The Prime MinisterI have decided to reconvene the Women's National Commission with the following terms of reference
To ensure by all possible means that the informed opinion of women is given its due weight in the deliberations of Government on matters of public interest.Consultations will take place as soon as possible with the Scottish Women's Organisations to decide upon the best means of co-ordinating their work with that of the Commission.
339WI have appointed my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science as co-Chairman. I have asked Mrs. J. Tilney, in her capacity as the United Kingdom representative on the United Nations Status of Women Commission, to continue as the other co-Chairman until elections both for the Commission's Executive Committee and for the elected co-Chairman can be held in February and May, 1971, respectively.
Criteria for membership of the Commission remain unchanged, but there will in future be only one representative and no alternate member for each constituent organisation. There will be no specialist Committees and the Commission's work will be organised on an ad hoc basis.