Select Committee on Nationalised Industries
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.1953.tb01760.x |
| Published date | 01 March 1953 |
| Date | 01 March 1953 |
Se
1
ec
t
Co
m
m
i
t
tee
on Nationalised Industries
THE REPORT
N
4th December, 1951, a Select Committee of eleven
hl.Ps
was appointed
“
to consider the present merhods by which the House of Commons is
informed
of the affairs of the Nationalised Industries and to report what
changes, having regard to the provisions lzid down by Parliament in the
relevant statutes, may be desirable in these methods.”
In its First Report (H.C. 332-1,1952) to the House on 29th October, 1952,
the Committee examines the Parliamentary Question which
it
considers to
be “the most immediate and convenient way open to Members to obtain
information about public matters.” Under the chairmanship of
Mr.
Ralph
hsjheton the Committee took evidence
on
this subject from eight witnesses
:
the Clerk and the Second Clerk-Assistant of the House of Commons (Sir
Frederic Metcalfe and Mr. D.
J.
Gordon), the Chairmen of the Nationalised
Transport, Electricity and Coal Industries (Lord Hurcomb, Lord Citrine and
Sir Hubert Houldsworth), a former Director-General
of
the Post Office
(Sir Thomas Gardiner), the Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. H.
F.
C.
Crookshank) and Mr. Herbert Morrison, a former Leader
of
the House and
a
leading member of the Labour Government who probably had the most
ineuence on the form of nationalisation. The Committee did not examine
any of the departmental Ministers who have answered Questions about the
industries nationalised since 1945, but one of its members was Mr.
F.
J.
Noel-
Baker, a former Minister of Fuel and Power.
The Committee has concentrated upon the Coal, Transport, Gas,
Electricity, and Iron and Steel industries
“
since they were constituted as
independent public corporations, with the deliberate intention of freeing them
as far as possible from the immediate control of the Government and of
Parliament
”
and it
“
is
in their case chiefly that .
.
.
difficulties have arisen
in obtaining information about their activities.’’ The Clerk of the House
presented the Committee with a memorandum, which is printed as an
Appendix to the Report, from which it appears that these diiZculties have
arisen partly from the naturc of the public corporation and
partly
as
a result
of Government policy in conjunction with the ordinary practice
of
the House
about Questions
to
Ministers.
Under existing statutes the
“
public corporations which control the
Nationalised Industries
”
differ
“
from the usual civil departments
”
and are
arahlished
“
as separate legal entities having full responsibility for day-to-
day administration.”
By
statute ministerial responsibility is limited to a
definite list of duties which may be roughly classified as
:
“
(a) giving to the Board directions of a general character
as
to the
exercise and performance by the Board of their functions in relation to
matters appearing to the Minister to affect the national interest
;
“
(b) procuring information on
any
point from the Board
;
“(c) a number of specific duties in connection with the appoint-
mcnts,
salaries
ad
coiicli~ion+
of
scrvicr
of
memheirs
of
Roarcis
;
pro-
55
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