24 MAY 1957, Page 7

A Spectator's Notebook

IT IS GOOD NEWS that the Prime Minister has acted on the suggestion of Mr. Desmond Donnelly that the burden of work on senior Ministers and possible ways of relieving it should be considered—even though he has only appointed a committee to see if he should appoint another committee. Most of the members of this committee which, under the chairmanship of Lord Attlee, consists of Lord Crookshank, Mr. Clement Davies, Mr. James Stuart and Mr. Chuter Ede, have experience of the burden of ministerial work and one or two of them, perhaps, have experience of how it may be relieved. But in this case I should have thought it would have been advisable to include either a present Minister or a politician who had never held office at all, even though this might mean that someone who was not a Privy Councillor scraped in. Elder statesmen are an invaluable adjunct to any committee, but one that is com- prised exclusively of them may lack something in diversity. Let us hope that this committee leads to the appointment of one with rather broader representation. * *