Fourth Schedule. — (Nactments Repealed.)

Part of Orders of the Day — House of Commons Disqualification Bill – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 12 March 1957.

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Photo of Mr William Spens Mr William Spens , Kensington South 12:00, 12 March 1957

It would be ungracious of me not to acknowledge the tributes paid to myself and the members of the Committee. I wish to associate myself with the tributes to my fellow members and, above all, to those who served us so well. If I may pick out anybody in particular, I would refer to the Parliamentary draftsmen whose work was invaluable, not only on this Bill but on the reverse disqualification Bill. The Parliamentary draftsmen were given a great deal more work by this Committee than Parliamentary draftsmen usually are.

We started out as a Committee with the intention of endeavouring to disqualify as few people as possible. Yet when we had finished our labours we had pages in the Schedule containing every sort and kind of office. One must remember that none of the people mentioned is a civil servant, because civil servants, under the provisions of Clause 2, are excluded en bloc. The people mentioned in the Schedule are not civil servants but those who hold offices which we think should disqualify them from membership of this House.

I differ from the right hon. and learned Member for Montgomery (Mr. C. Davies), who said that they are disqualified for ever. At any time they can offer themselves for election to this House, provided they give up the post which they hold. While it is true that many of these posts are great posts, which few men would be willing to sacrifice to come into this House—I hope that the occasions for so doing will be very few—the great bulk of them are trifling posts; although in our opinion men holding such posts would find their duties incompatible with membership of this House. But, if they are prepared to give up their posts, the holders may stand at any time for election as Members of this House.

I hope that in the days to come the tendency will be to reduce the number of such offices and not to add to them by Orders in Council. During the weekend I spent some time wondering whether there was any avenue which would lead to a reduction in the number of these posts. I came to the conclusion—in this I think I have the understanding and sympathy of the Joint Under-Secretary of State—that there were a great number of appellate bodies of one sort or another which have arisen under different Acts during the last half-century and which deal with appeals against the refusal of this or that benefit.

I believe that it might be possible to establish one administrative appellate body to which all appeals of that sort might go, instead of having a vast number of tribunals of various sorts, the members of which we have disqualified from membership of this House. I throw that out merely as a suggestion, because I think that in future attempts should be made to reduce the number of the offices contained in the Schedule and not to increase them.