Orders of the Day — Public Works Loans Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 12 November 1952.

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Photo of Mr Arthur Blenkinsop Mr Arthur Blenkinsop , Newcastle upon Tyne East 12:00, 12 November 1952

And, of course, the hon. Gentleman would agree, I am sure, that one can get to a position in which it is very difficult to see whether one is merely encouraging or whether one is enforcing. Such measures of encouragement could be used that they become almost compulsion on local authorities if they want to secure their loan at all. The "Financial Times" goes on to say: A step in this direction has been taken with the decision not to renew the 1945 ruling compelling local authorities to obtain their capital needs from Government sources. But this is clearly nothing more than a first move of little practical significance. They go on to say that it is of importance merely because it shows the direction in which the Government are moving, and suggests that there may be two further steps the Government may take.

We are still in the future, but I am afraid the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. H. Nicholls) has now gone, so I cannot ask for his further support. They say that either the Government may take steps to ensure that the present inducement to local authorities to borrow from the Public Works Loan Board might disappear—that is one way of encouragement; that is the next thing to inducement—or it may be a preliminary to the pre-war practice by which the Public Works Loan Board obtained their funds from the market and not from the taxpayer.

We certainly want to have information on these issues. I must say that I think it was a little naive of the Financial Secretary, when he made his speech, to think that this was a relatively simple matter, and that there was nothing behind it; that he appeared before us almost transparent with good will and there could be nothing to which we could possibly take exception. Far from that being true, we on this side must examine these proposals with great care and with great suspicion in view, not only of the comments I have referred to from the Press which supports the Government, and which is pressing them forward further along the line, but also because of the encouragement that these remarks have already received from hon. Members opposite.

I therefore hope that these questions will receive the full and careful attention which they ought to receive by Members on both sides of the House, so that the local authorities as a whole will be informed that there is more behind this than at first meets the eye.