§ Mr. Ronald Atkinsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether any independent management studies, other than the Research Report by Gareth Morgan, have been made of the Central Lancashire Development Corporation; and whether they were favourable or unfavourable.
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§ Mr. Ronald Atkinsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment on how many occasions during the last two years the three liaison committees have been consulted about the intentions of the Central Lancashire Development Corporation.
§ Mr. OakesI have no knowledge of the number of times these committees were consulted by the Central Lancashire Development Corporation, but I understand that representatives of the Corporation took part in many of the 30 meetings which have taken place over the past two years.
§ Mr. Ronald Atkinsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment why the research report by Gareth Morgan entitled "The Organisation and Management of the Central Lancashire Development Corporation" was not mentioned at public meetings at which organisation and management, among other matters, were discussed.
§ Mr. Ronald Atkinsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he had received a copy of the research report by Gareth Morgan on the organisation and management of the Central Lancashire Development Corporation, issued in May 1973, before the copy presented to him by the hon. Member for Preston, North on 4th November 1975.
§ Mr. OakesYes—even though the report did not raise issues which needed reference to my Department.
§ Mr. Ronald Atkinsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will decentralise control from the chief officers of the Central Lancashire Development Corporation to the technical officers of the corporation;
(2) if he will require the management and organisation of the Central Lancashire Development Corporation to be less formal and more flexible for the tasks it is called upon to perform;
(3) what opportunities are provided for professional second-tier officers to use 701W their initiative in the formulation of policy after discussion with experts in other fields of equal rank in the Central Lancashire Development Corporation;
(4) what methods the Central Lancashire Development Corporation employs to consider suggestions and ideas from both within and outside the organisation;
(5) what encouragement members of the staff of the Central Lancashire Development Corporation are given to use initiative and to put forward new ideas;
(6) what changes have been made in the organisation and management of the Central Lancashire Development Corporation since the research report on this subject was produced by Gareth Morgan in May 1973;
(7) what has been the turnover of Central Lancashire Development Corporation staff employed within physical planning, social facilities and research and comprising inclusively grades 6 to the upper salary range.
§ Mr. OakesEvery new town development corporation has full responsibility for its own management and organisation, and for staffing matters up to and including the upper salary range level. Central Lancashire Development Corporation is no exception. Inquiries of this nature should therefore be made to them direct.
§ Mr. Ronald Atkinsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will request the Central Lancashire Development Corporation to implement the objectives expressed on page 8 of the Research Report by Gareth Morgan;
(2) if he will arrange to have published and make freely available Gareth Morgan's Research Report on the Organisation and Management of the Central Lancashire Development Corporation.
§ Mr. OakesDecisions on whether or not this research report should be published, or its objectives implemented, are entirely matters for the development corporation to decide.