I beg to move, in page 14, line 42, after "include," to insert:

"a copy of any notice in writing given under section six of this Act (save in so far as the Postmaster-General may certify that it is not in the national interest to disclose the contents of any such notice) and."

The purpose of the Amendment is to ensure that when the annual report of the I.T.A. is published it shall include references to any directions which the Postmaster-General has given to the Authority during the period covered by the report. As we know, this provision is included in all existing nationalisation Acts. It applies in the case of the National Coal Board, the British Transport Commission, the British Electricity Authority, the Gas Council, and so on. Where the Minister gives directions to those public corporations they have to include in their report a statement of those directions. We think that it is appropriate, therefore, that similar provisions should be made in the case of the I.T.A.

We quite understand that there may be occasions when it would not be in the national interest to disclose that a direction has been given. A direction might have been given in the interest of national security or for some similar purpose. In those cases we have provided that it is not obligatory upon the Minister to disclose the direction or upon the Authority to include it in its report. In view of the fact that the Assistant Postmaster-General has accepted the previous Amendment, I see no reason whatsoever why he cannot accept this one. Throughout our discussions in Committee and on Report stage, we on this side of the House have endeavoured to put the onus upon the Postmaster-General of answering to the House for the actions of the Authority.

Here is another instance of our trying to bring more public accountability into the Bill. If the Government would accept the Amendment, it would enable us to be aware of the directives given by the Postmaster-General from time to time and it would make it easier for us to ask Questions when we considered it necessary to do so.

During the debate today the Assistant Postmaster-General has made one or two concessions in which he has disclosed that it is necessary that the Authority should be under the control of the Minister responsible; that is to say, gradually more and more safeguards have been introduced by him into the Bill. In our view, not nearly enough safeguards have been introduced. However, the Assistant Postmaster-General has accepted the necessity for public accountability. The Amendment represents merely one further small step towards increasing the degree of public accountability of the Authority.

I beg to second the Amendment.

As the Government accepted the earlier Amendment, I hope that they will consider this very modest one a suitable one to accent to end the Report stage on the Clauses. Here is an opportunity for the Government to accept an Amendment which is even more important than the one moved by my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Kettering (Mr. Mitchison) in which "than" was substituted for "as."

I hope that the Government, when considering this Amendment, will also give attention to a later Amendment of ours which we may not have time to move tonight but which is nonetheless of considerable importance. These Amendments refer to the type of information which should be given in the Annual Report to enable Parliament and the public at large to judge the activities and success of the great and wonderful new venture of the Assistant Postmaster-General. If we are to be able to make a judgment we must know how far the Authority has done what it has done off its own bat and how far it has done it under the skilled direction of the Post Office. We want to be able to award credit where a good job is done. When wise directions and wise advice are given, it will be easier for us to pay the kind of compliments under which the Assistant Postmaster-General thrives and develops.

We have two minutes left. Why, on an Amendment