Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 19 Rhagfyr 1973.
Mr George Cunningham
, Islington South West
12:00,
19 Rhagfyr 1973
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the information about the salary of the former Director of Finance of the Crown Agents and his proposed remuneration as joint deputy chairman of First National Finance Corporation that was before him when he gave his approval for the director to take up the appointment immediately on resignation as a member of the staff of the Crown Agents in accordance with the procedures set out in Estacode section K.
Hon. Richard Wood
, Bridlington
Mr. Challis's salary at the Crown Agents was £8,675 a year. I had no information about his prospective salary in private employment.
Mr George Cunningham
, Islington South West
Will the Minister acknowledge that he has taken personal responsibility for allowing this switch to take place? If the gentleman in question had been a civil servant, does he, with hindsight, consider that it was unwise of him to do so, since the Director of Finance of the Crown Agents had been in that position over many years, placing funds amounting to millions of pounds with First National Finance Corporation before taking up a position as deputy chairman on the next day? With hindsight, does the Minister agree that it was an undesirable move to allow?
Hon. Richard Wood
, Bridlington
No, Sir. Hindsight has made no difference to my view. I was consulted about this matter before I expressed my view. I saw no reason to disapprove. Therefore, I share the responsibility for that decision.
Hon. Richard Wood
, Bridlington
Yes—share. The suggestion was made to me by the Crown Agent and I saw no reason to disapprove of his judgment. Having reflected on this matter, if that proposition were put to me now, I should take the same view as I took then.
Mr Nigel Spearing
, Acton
The Minister has stated that he has no knowledge of the present salary of this gentleman as joint deputy chairman of First National Finance Corporation. Does that mean that when he decided to give his permission for this appointment he did not think that the salary that that gentleman would get in his new position was relevant to the matters that he had to weigh in making that choice?
Hon. Richard Wood
, Bridlington
It means that I felt that it was quite wrong, when I was consulted by the Crown Agent on this matter, to base my decision in any way on a comparison of salaries. The rules in Estacode, to which I have referred, do not require any knowledge of a future salary.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
