New Clause. — (Redundancy Payments.)

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 18 Mehefin 1964.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Mr Jack Diamond Mr Jack Diamond , Gloucester 12:00, 18 Mehefin 1964

That is a very unsatisfactory answer to a very good Clause. I preface my remarks by saying how delighted I was to hear the hon. Member for Crosby (Mr. Graham Page) turn over a new leaf, as it were, in his attitude towards severance payment generally. Everything that he said was acceptable. I have heard in Committee upstairs on different legislation the hon. Member expressing sentiments with which I did not agree and I therefore welcome this conversion.

The Government have responsibility in this matter. It may have been in his Budget statement a year ago, or even two years ago, that I heard the Chancellor of the Exchequer promise that the whole of this field would be looked at because, he said, he was fully aware that there were these developments in severance payments, that there were private schemes and that the whole tax system was out of date in relation to modern schemes. He said that the whole thing would be looked at and that suggestions would be brought before the House of Commons. That has not happened. What the Financial Secretary has said is merely what could have been properly said two years ago. The Government should have looked at the matter and brought forward proposals.

It is not the job of back benchers on either side of the Committee to bring forward a watertight scheme to cover all sorts of possibilities. Only the Government have the resources available to them, but they have not done this. The Financial Secretary is not making any contribution to the solution of our problem beyond saying that we ought to wait until the precise form of Government law on severence payment has been decided.