Part of Ballot for Notices of Motions – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 14 April 1965.
I am waiting for the noise to die down, because I do not want another hon. Member opposite to get up and complain that he cannot hear. What the Minister of State has just said is contrary to the information which was given to me. Nevertheless, I am quite prepared to allow the Minister of State to give any explanation he likes. I say it not by way of criticism that the hon. Member won the Division only by the casting vote of the Chairman.
In his winding-up speech in the debate, the Minister said that the Franks Committee was concerned with administrative tribunals and not with the purposes of the Bill, and I accept that. Nevertheless, it is essential that we consider the spirit in which the Franks Tribunal approached these problems. I would just quote a few lines quoted to the hon. Gentleman already by my hon. Friend the Member for Reading (Mr. Peter Emery) in his opening remarks on the Amendment. The Franks Committee on page 75 of its Report had this to say:
There is a consensus of opinion that the final letter of decision from or on behalf of the Minister should contain full reasons for the decision. The practice of giving properly reasoned decisions has grown noticeably in recent years. Decision letters sent on behalf of the Minister of Housing and Local Government seem to us to be admirable, but the standard of performance among other Departments is unequal.
It is the spirit of this I am trying to get across to the Minister, and I think he would agree that it would be right for the Board of Trade, as far as possible, to do what we say in Amendment No. 14 that the Board of Trade should do, and that is to give the applicant full reasons for granting or refusing an office development permit. if the Board of Trade—or, for that matter, any Department dealing with applications of this kind—does not give full reasons, it leaves the applicant with a feeling of injustice, with the feeling that his case has not been properly considered—even, perhaps, a feeling that the Board of Trade may not have been fully aware of the case. That may be an entirely unreasonable feeling, but human beings are unreasonable; they are not logical, one gathers. We must make it clear that justice is being done, and I am sure that the Minister appreciates this and would want to make certain that people who are refused applications do know why.