Catalogue description Committee on Intermediaries (Herbert Committee): Records

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Details of T 167
Reference: T 167
Title: Committee on Intermediaries (Herbert Committee): Records
Description:

Records of the Committee on Intermediaries (Herbert Committee). It contains minutes of the 21 meetings, memoranda submitted by various government departments and other bodies, and papers concerning the composition and terms of reference of the Committee. T 167/8 is a printed copy of the final report of the committee.
Date: 1949-1950
Arrangement:

Arrangement is by date order of the files.
Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Language: English
Creator:

Treasury, Committee on Intermediaries, 1949-1950
Physical description: 8 files and volumes
Access conditions: Open
Immediate source of acquisition:

Treasury ,date not known.
Accruals: No future accruals expected
Administrative / biographical background:

The Committee on Intermediaries (Herbert Committee) was set up in 1949 under the chairmanship of Sir Edwin Savory Herbert, an eminent solicitor, company director and public servant. The appointment of the Herbert Committee arose out of the report of the Tribunal of Enquiry, presided over by Mr Justice Lynskey, which had been set up in 1948 to enquire into the activities of individuals known as"contact men" or intermediaries.

The terms of reference of the Committee on Intermediaries were:

  • To inquire how far persons are making a business of acting as specialists in the submission of application for licences or permits, or otherwise as intermediaries between Govennment Departments and the public
  • to report whether the activities of such persons are liable to give rise to abuses, and to make recommendations.

The inquiry did not intended to cover the activities on behalf of their clients by members of recognised professions.

It was a Treasury controlled enquiry, with some advice from outside the government service. Its report was presented directly to the Prime Minister, Clement Attlee. The first meeting was held on the 1st March 1949. Twenty-one meetings were held, and the Committee published its report in March 1950 Report of the Committee on Intermediaries, March 1950, Cmd 7904

The committee examined the role of intermediaries, and the mechanisms of liaison between representatives of trade and industry, and private individuals with Government Departments. Most of the evidence submitted came from government departments, which were divided into 5 groups for the purposes of the inquiry

GROUP I

  • Treasury
  • Inland Revenue

GROUP II

  • Central Land Board and War Damage Commission
  • Ministry of Civil Aviation
  • Ministry of Fuel and Power
  • Post Office
  • Ministry of Supply
  • Board of Trade
  • Ministry of Works

GROUP III

  • Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
  • Department of Agriculture for Scotland
  • Ministry of Food

GROUP IV

  • Home Office
  • Scottish Home Department

GROUP V

  • Ministry of Health
  • Ministry of Labour and National Service
  • National Assistance Board
  • Ministry of National Insurance
  • Ministry of Pensions
  • Department of Health for Scotland
  • Scottish Education Department

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