"No Public Control of Nationalized Transport"
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DESPITE pressure by Opposition Members in the House of Commons, last week, the Minister of Transport refusee to state what check was placed upon the amount of money spent by the British Transport Commission on the production of films for the general public. He said that this was a matter for the B.T.C. itself.
Mr. Peter Thorneycroft alleged that the film " Transport " was politically controversial and asked for its withdrawal. The Minister denied this charge and said that films were being produced in the same series dealing with large private enterprises.
Mr. Thorneycroft said that although questions on the Commission's film policy had been ruled out of order. the Lord President of the Council had s.aid that questions arising out of the Commission's report could be tabled.
Further Reticence Mr. Herbert Morrison, Lord President, said that ta. did not recall stating that questions could be asked on the subject of films, and the Minister replied that as the matter concerned the B.T.C., it would not be proper for him to be drawn into discussion through supplementary questions the Minister was similarly reticent about the rental of the London headquarters premises of the Road Passenger Executive. This information was in the B.T.C.'s annual report, he said, and he did not intend duplicating machinery which . the Commission should operate.
Mr. McAdden asked whether the transfer from road to rail of container loads, as mentioned in the annual report, was effected with or without customers' consent. The Minister's reply was again that this was a matter of day-to-day administration for the Commission.
Mr. Braine " Ha.s not the Minister made it quite clear . that the idea of nationalization conferring public control over industry is a myth and a delusion? There ia no public control whatsoever ' Minister's Responsibilities The day following this discussion. Lord Hurcomb, chairman of the B.T.C., replied to each ot the M.P.s who had asked questions in the House, giving them the information they required.
Later in the week, Mr. Thorneycroft asked the Lord President upon what , aspects of the annual report of nationalized industries Ministers would in future answer questions.
• Mr. Morrison said that Ministers' responsibilit■cs lay in presenting reports before Parliament and for the form of the accounts. To make the Minister answerable for everything contained in the reports would merely mean that the politicians were running vast commercial undertakings Mr. Mikardo "When the nationalization Bills were passing through the House . . the Opposition continually protested that the Ministers were being given too much power over the corporations, and demanded that the corporations should be free from day-to-day Ministerial interference."