– in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 12 August 1947.
Mr. Vane:
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the scope of the proposed changes in the administration of Alderney.
Mr George Oliver
, Ilkeston
If the hon. Member is referring to the scope of inquiry of the Privy Council Committee in regard to Alderney, I would refer him to the reply which my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Darwen (Mr. Prescott) on 10th July last.
Mr. Vane:
Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the Lieutenant-Governor made a statement the other day concerning the proposed changes, and included in his speech remarks which were widely considered to be veiled threats? Will the hon. Gentleman assure the House that no changes in administration will take place in Alderney as a result of any threats?
Mr George Oliver
, Ilkeston
All I can say is that the Committee consisting of the Home Secretary, the right hon. Member for North Leeds (Mr. Peake) and Lord Ammon, has been appointed to consider the constitutional question. That Committee was only appointed on 3rd July, and we cannot expect any report from them yet.
Major Samuel Haughton
, Antrim
Would the hon. Gentleman be prepared to consider a letter which I received an hour ago from the Channel Islands, referring to a document which is to be put before the Royal Court there in September?
Mr George Oliver
, Ilkeston
indicated assent.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The Privy Council goes back to the earliest days of the Monarchy, when it comprised those appointed by the King or Queen to advise on matters of state.
As the constitution developed into today's constitutional monarchy, under which The Sovereign acts on the advice of Ministers, so the Privy Council adapted. Its day to day business is transacted by those of Her Majesty's Ministers who are Privy Counsellors, that is all Cabinet Ministers and a number of junior Ministers. Membership of the Privy Council brings with it the right to be called "Right Honourable".
The Privy Council still meets regularly, on average once a month, but, as with the Cabinet, most of its business is transacted in discussion and correspondence between its Ministerial members and the Government Departments that advise them. The Privy Council Office (which is itself a Government Department) provides a secretariat for these discussions, as the Cabinet Office does in relation to the business of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees. Councils are held by The Queen and are attended by Ministers and the Clerk of the Council. At each meeting the Council will obtain Her Majesty's formal approval to a number of Orders which have already been discussed and approved by Ministers, much as Acts of Parliament become law through the giving of the Royal Assent after having been debated in Parliament.
Meetings are reported in the Court Circular, along with the names of Ministers attending (usually four in number). The Orders made at each Council are in the public domain, and each bears the date and place of the Council at which it was made. There is therefore nothing at all "secret" about Privy Council meetings. The myth that the Privy Council is a secretive body springs from the wording of the Privy Counsellor's Oath , which, in its current form, dates back to Tudor times. It requires those taking it to "keep secret all matters...treated of in Council". The Oath (or solemn affirmation for those who cannot take an Oath) is still administered, and is still binding; but it is only in very special circumstances nowadays that matters will come to a Privy Counsellor on "Privy Council terms". These will mostly concern matters of the national interest where it is important for senior members of Opposition parties to have access to Government information.
