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Catalogue Reference:CAB/128/53/10
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C M ( 7 3 ) 49th
Conclusions
C O P Y NO
g g
CABINET
C O N C L U S I O N S of a M e e t i n g of the Cabinet
h e l d at 10 Downing S t r e e t on
T U E S D A Y 23 O C T O B E R 1973
at 10 30 a m
a
PRESENT
T h e R t Hon E d w a r d Heath M P Prime Minister T h e R t Hon S i r A l e c D o u g l a s - H o m e M P
S e c r e t a r y o f State f o r F o r e i g n and
C o m m o n w e a l t h A f f a i r s ( I t e m s 1, 3 and 4)
The RtHon LordHailshamof StMarylebone
L o r d Chancellor
T h e R t Hon Anthony B a r b e r M P
C h a n c e l l o r of the E x c h e q u e r
T h e Rt Hon L o r d Carrington
S e c r e t a r y of State f o r D e f e n c e
T h e Rt Hon J a m e s P r i o r M P
L o r d P r e s i d e n t of the C o u n c i l
T h e R t H o n Sir K e i t h Joseph M P
S e c r e t a r y of State f o r S o c i a l S e r v i c e s
T h e R t Hon G e o f f r e y Rippon Q C M P
S e c r e t a r y of State f o r the E n v i r o n m e n t
The Rt Hon M a r g a r e t Thatcher M P
S e c r e t a r y of State f o r E d u c a t i o n and
Science
T h e R t Hon G o r d o n C a m p b e l l M P
S e c r e t a r y of State f o r Scotland
T h e Rt H o n P e t e r W a l k e r M P
S e c r e t a r y of State for T r a d e and Industry
T h e R t Hon John D a v i e s M P
C h a n c e l l o r of the Duchy of L a n c a s t e r
T h e Rt Hon P e t e r Thomas QC M P
S e c r e t a r y of State f o r W a l e s
T h e Rt Hon M a u r i c e M a c m i l l a n M P
S e c r e t a r y of State f o r E m p l o y m e n t
T h e Rt Hon Sir G e o f f r e y H o w e Q C M P
M i n i s t e r f o r T r a d e and C o n s u m e r A f f a i r s
T h e R t Hon L o r d W i n d l e s h a m
L o r d P r i v y Seal
i
THE FOLLOWING WERE A L S O PRESENT
T h e R t Hon P a t r i c k Jenkin M P
C h i e f S e c r e t a r y , T r e a s u r y ( I t e m 3)
T h e R t Hon F r a n c i s P y m M P
Parliamentary Secretary, Treasury
SECRETARIAT
Sir
Mr
Mr
Mr
Mr
Mr
John Hunt
H F T Smith
P Benner
I T Lawman
H F Ellis-Rees
J B W Robins CONTENTS
I t e m
1.
Subject
Page
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
M i d d l e E a s t
1
2.
T H E Q U E E N ' S S P E E C H O N T H E O P E N I N G OF P A R L I A M E N T
2
3.
R A T E S U P P O R T G R A N T
3
4 .
INDUSTRIAL AFFAIRS
F i r e m e n in Glasgow
6
11
1.
T H E F O R E I G N A N D C O M M O N W E A L T H S E C R E T A R Y said
that he had m e t the A m e r i c a n S e c r e t a r y of State the p r e v i o u s
e v e n i n g when D r K i s s i n g e r stopped i n London on h i s w a y back
t o Washington f r o m his v i s i t s to M o s c o w and T e l A v i v
It s e e m e d
c l e a r f r o m t h e i r c o n v e r s a t i o n that in concentrating t h e i r e f f o r t s on
obtaining the c e a s e f i r e , the R u s s i a n s and A m e r i c a n s had g i v e n
l i t t l e thought to the n e e d to p o l i c e it,,
If a c e a s e f i r e w ^ r e a c h i e v e d
on the Syrian front t h e r e should not be g r e a t p r a c t i c a l d i f f i c u l t y in
maintaining it since the salient held b y the I s r a e l i s w a s continuous.
On the southern fronts h o w e v e r , the p o s i t i o n w a s v e r y complicated^
and the Egyptian f o r c e s to the e a s t of the Suez Canal had l o s t t h e i r
supply l i n e s f r o m the w e s t .
T h e c e a s e f i r e t h e r e m u s t t h e r e f o r e be
r e g a r d e d as e x t r e m e l y f r a g i l e and he had u r g e d upon D r K i s s i n g e r
the a d v i s a b i l i t y of a r r a n g i n g with the United N a t i o n s S e c r e t a r y
G e n e r a l , Dr W a l d h e i m , that the United Nations T r u c e S u p e r v i s o r y
m a c h i n e r y s h o u l d h e strengthened and used i m m e d i a t e l y t o p o l i c e
the c e a s e f i r e and^help t o d e a l with l o c a l d i f f i c u l t i e s .
Dr Kissinger
a p p e a r e d not to favour convening a p e a c e c o n f e r e n c e ; it s e e m e d that
he and the Russian l e a d e r s hoped that the A r a b s and I s r a e l i s would
c o m e t o g e t h e r i n d i r e c t n e g o t i a t i o n s , with the United States and the
S o v i e t Union i n t e r v e n i n g as m i g h t be n e c e s s a r y to m o v e the
n e g o t i a t i o n s along.
D r K i s s i n g e r r e f e r r e d to the p r e s e n t m o o d
on both s i d e s , and w a s p l a i n l y a w a r e that the task of launching
n e g o t i a t i o n s would b e d i f f i c u l t .
D r K i s s i n g e r showed s o m e r e t i c e n c e
on the subject o f a r m s supplies f r o m the S o v i e t Union and the United
S t a t e s , but gave the i m p r e s s i o n that they m i g h t h a v e r e a c h e d an
i n f o r m a l understanding t o o b s e r v e r e s t r a i n t , and said that he
e x p e c t e d t o see a r e d u c t i o n in the f l o w of R u s s i a n a r m s in the
near future.
On the subject of o i l supplies D r K i s s i n g e r said
that he w a s not p r e p a r e d to be b l a c k m a i l e d by A r a b p r e s s u r e s .
H e r e c o g n i s e d , however^ that E u r o p e m i g h t suffer much m o r e
s e r i o u s l y than the United States and he w a s p r o p o s i n g to send what
he d e s c r i b e d as a c o n c i l i a t o r y m e s s a g e to the A r a b o i l producing
States and to P r e s i d e n t Sadat of E g y p t in which he would say that
it would not h e l p the A r a b cause to i n f l i c t p e n a l t i e s on the E u r o p e a n
countries.
He would a l s o point out that without the b e n e v o l e n t
e n g a g e m e n t of the United States it would be i m p o s s i b l e to r e a c h
a just solution of the M i d d l e E a s t p r o b l e m .
0
T H E P R I M E M I N I S T E R , summing up a b r i e f d i s c u s s i o n , said that
w e would need t o c o n s i d e r putting f u r t h e r i d e a s to the A m e r i c a n and
Soviet Governments.
It w a s e s s e n t i a l that D r W a l d h e i m should be
i n v o l v e d i n the s e a r c h f o r a solution.
T h e United Nafcic&s Taruce
S u p e r v i s o r y m a c h i n e r y m i g h t w e l l be the only i m m e d i a t e s o u r c e of
help in t r y i n g t o p r e s e r v e the c e a s e f i r e .
T h e r e had a l r e a d y been
s o m e fighting and the d a n g e r s o f conflict would r e m a i n , h o w e v e r
much the Egyptians and I s r a e l i s m i g h t w i s h to a v o i d i t , unless the
t r o o p s could be r e p o s i t i o n e d .
T h i s in t u r n m i g h t depend upon the
opening of n e g o t i a t i o n s .
T o o k n o t e , with a p p r o v a l , of the P r i m e
summing up of t h e i r d i s c u s s i o n .
THE
QUEEN'S
SPEECH
ON T H E
OPENING
OF
PARLIAMENT
Previous
Reference:
C M ( 7 3 ) 48th
Conclusions,
Minute 5
Ministers
2.
T h e Cabinet had b e f o r e t h e m a note b y the L o r d P r e s i d e n t of
the C o u n c i l ( C P ( 7 3 ) 107), t o which was annexed a r e v i s e d draft of
T h e Q u e e n s Speech on the Opening of P a r l i a m e n t .
!
T h e CaKnafc c o n s i d e r e d the d r a f t Speech p a r a g r a p h by paragraph,,
T H E P R I M E M I N I S T E R , summing up the d i s c u s s i o n , said that the
Cabinet a p p r o v e d the d r a f t , subject to c e r t a i n a m e n d m e n t s which
had been suggested in d i s c u s s i o n and t o f u r t h e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n being
g i v e n t o p a r a g r a p h s 9 and 16.
T h e f o r m e r , on the M i d d l e E a s t
situation, would need to be r e v i e w e d to take account of the latest
situation which had a r i s e n f r o m the recent S e c u r i t y Council
Resolution,
T h e l a t t e r , on housing p o l i c y , should be r e c o n s i d e r e d
by the L o r d P r e s i d e n t in consultation with the C h a n c e l l o r of the
E x c h e q u e r and the S e c r e t a r y of State f o r the E n v i r o n m e n t .
The
Cabinet w e r e a g r e e d that the wording of t h i s p a r t of the Speech must
not p r e - e m p t the difficult d e c i s i o n s which would s h o r t l y h a v e t o b e
taken in r e l a t i o n to land and housing; but subject to this w e r e
anxious that the p a r a g r a p h should b e couched in as p o s i t i v e t e r m s
as p o s s i b l e .
T h e Speech should be kept under r e v i e w to e n s u r e that
account could be taken of any m o d i f i c a t i o n s made n e c e s s a r y by
subsequent d e v e l o p m e n t s .
T h e Cabinet T o o k n o t e , with a p p r o v a l , of the P r i m e M i n i s t e r ' s
summing up of t h e i r d i s c u s s i o n .
3,
T h e Cabinet c o n s i d e r e d a m e m o r a n d u m b y the S e c r e t a r y of
State f o r the E n v i r o n m e n t ( C P ( 7 3 ) 106) outlining p r o p o s a l s f o r the
d i s t r i b u t i o n of the r a t e support g r a n t to b e introduced f r o m 1 A p r i l
1974.
T H E S E C R E T A R Y O F S T A T E F O R T H E E N V I R O N M E N T said that
the l e v e l of r a t e s l e v i e d in the c o m i n g y e a r would be of the g r e a t e s t
i m p o r t a n c e to the G o v e r n m e n t , both in the context of t h e i r counter ­
i n f l a t i o n a r y p o l i c y and on w i d e r p o l i t i c a l g r o u n d s .
T h i s would
l a r g e l y turn on the amount of rate support g r a n t , on which he w o u l d
soon b e putting p r o p o s a l s to his c o l l e a g u e s in the light of d i s c u s s i o n s
with the l o c a l authority a s s o c i a t i o n s .
But i t w a s f i r s t n e c e s s a r y to
d e c i d e how the g r a n t should be d i s t r i b u t e d on the r e o r g a n i s a t i o n of
l o c a l g o v e r n m e n t , which would c o m e into e f f e c t on 1 A p r i l 1974.
The
M i n i s t e r i a l C o m m i t t e e on R e g i o n a l P o l i c y and the E n v i r o n m e n t had
c o n s i d e r e d his p r o p o s a l s f o r changes in t w o m a j o r r e s p e c t s : a n e w
f o r m u l a f o r c a l c u l a t i n g the needs e l e m e n t of g r a n t that would
r e c o g n i s e the p r o b l e m s of a r e a s with m o r e than the a v e r a g e
n u m b e r of s c h o o l c h i l d r e n , s p a r s e r population o r h e a v i e r s o c i a l
n e e d s ; and a n e w r e s o u r c e s e l e m e n t , at 25 p e r cent, which would
i n c r e a s e the s h a r e of London and the n e w m e t r o p o l i t a n a r e a s , l a r g e l y
at the e x p e n s e of a r e a s with high r e s o u r c e s .
But as the s t r i c t
a p p l i c a t i o n of this f o r m u l a would m e a n that d o m e s t i c r a t e p a y e r s
in s o m e a r e a s m i g h t f a c e l a r g e i n c r e a s e s in t h e i r r a t e b i l l s , he
p r o p o s e d s p e c i a l a r r a n g e m e n t s (which would be open to r e v i e w in
a y e a v ' s t i m e , and could if a p p r o p r i a t e then b e p r o g r e s s i v e l y phased
out) f o r i n c r e a s i n g the d o m e s t i c e l e m e n t of r a t e support grant in
a r e a s which would b e p a r t i c u l a r l y a f f e c t e d b y the l o s s of r e s o u r c e s
element.
D o m e s t i c r a t e p a y e r s would a l s o benefit f r o m an i n c r e a s e
in the l e v e l of statutory deductions and an e x t e n s i o n of r a t e r e b a t e s
t o c o v e r s o m e t h r e e m i l l i o n of the p o o r e s t h o u s e h o l d s .
The
a p p e n d i c e s t o his m e m o r a n d u m i l l u s t r a t e d the e f f e c t of t h e s e
c h a n g e s , t o which he now sought the C a b i n e t s a p p r o v a l .
1
In d i s c u s s i o n a w i d e m e a s u r e of c o n c e r n w a s e x p r e s s e d about
the b r o a d p o l i t i c a l i m p a c t of t h e s e p r o p o s a l s .
It was d o u b t l e s s
cause f o r r e g r e t that no new s o u r c e of l o c a l g o v e r n m e n t r e v e n u e
had e m e r g e d f r o m the consultation d o c u m e n t on l o c a l g o v e r n m e n t
finance which had b e e n published i n 1971; but if r a t e s must continue
t o f o r m the b a s i s of l o c a l authority i n c o m e , it w a s m o s t u n d e s i r a b l e
f o r a C o n s e r v a t i v e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n to i m p o s e gratuitous f i n a n c i a l
burdens on d o m e s t i c r a t e p a y e r s i n a r e a s t r a d i t i o n a l l y f a v o u r a b l e
to t h e m in o r d e r to g i v e l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s e l s e w h e r e s c o p e to indulge
in an u n d e s i r a b l y high l e v e l of e x p e n d i t u r e .
T h e d i m e n s i o n s of the
p r o b l e m w e r e r e f l e c t e d in the l o s s of r e s o u r c e s e l e m e n t that w a s
p r o p o s e d f o r m a n y a r e a s of the M i d l a n d s and South E a s t ; and i n
W a l e s the independent a u t h o r i t i e s would s u f f e r , while the only g a i n e r s
would be t h o s e o p p o s e d to the G o v e r n m e n t ,
R a t e s must in any c a s e
be e x p e c t e d t o i n c r e a s e ; and the p r e s e n t p r o p o s a l s s e e m e d l i k e l y in
g e n e r a l t o b e a r h a r d e s t on a section of s o c i e t y which had benefited
least f r o m inflationary wage i n c r e a s e s .
M a n y of the G o v e r n m e n t s
s u p p o r t e r s in P a r l i a m e n t and the country at l a r g e w e r e a l r e a d y
c r i t i c a l of the r e o r g a n i s a t i o n of l o c a l g o v e r n m e n t ; and i t m i g h t
w e l l be difficult to obtain a m a j o r i t y in P a r l i a m e n t f o r the p r o p o s a l s
in their present f o r m .
M o r e o v e r , if the total grant s e t t l e m e n t w e r e no l a r g e r than t h i s y e a r ,
e v e n t h o s e l o c a l authorities who would gain under the n e w d i s t r i b u t i o n
would s t i l l find difficulty in m e e t i n g e x i s t i n g c o m m i t m e n t s , ,
Indeed,
the expenditure of l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s had been mounting at an a l a r m i n g
r a t e , with s e r i o u s consequences f o r future t r e n d s in public
e x p e n d i t u r e as a w h o l e ; and urgent m e a s u r e s would be n e e d e d
t o b r i n g it under c o n t r o l .
It might t h e r e f o r e be f o r c o n s i d e r a t i o n
w h e t h e r the existing pattern of grant should b e left unchanged, and
s p e c i f i c p a y m e n t s be m a d e to a r e a s of urban d e p r i v a t i o n .
A s against
t h i s , it w a s a r g u e d that such a step would appear i n c o n s i s t e n t with
the G o v e r n m e n t s approach to g i v i n g g r e a t e r independence to l o c a l
a u t h o r i t i e s , and would in any c a s e r e v e a l s t i l l l a r g e r a n o m a l i e s .
A g a i n s t this background i t was suggested that the G o v e r n m e n t s f i r s t
c o n c e r n must be to p r o t e c t the d o m e s t i c r a t e p a y e r .
Under the
rating r e v a l u a t i o n which had taken p l a c e e a r l i e r in the y e a r , the
d o m e s t i c r a t e p a y e r s s h a r e of the burden had i n c r e a s e d a g a i n s t
that of i n d u s t r y , and t h e r e w e r e n o w v a l i d a r g u m e n t s f o r r e d r e s s i n g
the b a l a n c e .
It was a l s o open to question whether d o m e s t i c
r a t e p a y e r s in a r e a s which would stand to benefit f r o m an i n c r e a s e
i n the r e s o u r c e s e l e m e n t of grant should continue to enjoy the same
l e v e l of d o m e s t i c d e r a t i n g as at p r e s e n t .
With t h e s e c o n s i d e r a t i o n s
i n mind i t m i g h t be p o s s i b l e t o a c h i e v e a m o r e f l e x i b l e d i s t r i b u t i o n .
T H E P R I M E M I N I S T E R , summing up the d i s c u s s i o n , said that
s e r i o u s c o n c e r n had been e x p r e s s e d at the i m p a c t which the p r o p o s a l s
m u s t be e x p e c t e d to have both on r a t e p a y e r s i n a r e a s t r a d i t i o n a l l y
f a v o u r a b l e to the G o v e r n m e n t and on the l e v e l s of l o c a l a u t h o r i t y
expenditure generally.
It might indeed be n e c e s s a r y to construct
a completely new scheme.
A s a f i r s t step the S e c r e t a r y o f State
should as a m a t t e r of u r g e n c y r e v i s e the p r o p o s e d t r a n s i t i o n a l
a r r a n g e m e n t s in the light of the C a b i n e t s d i s c u s s i o n , in o r d e r
t o p r o v i d e g r e a t e r and m o r e f l e x i b l e p r o t e c t i o n f o r d o m e s t i c
r a t e p a y e r s without encouraging e x c e s s i v e e x p e n d i t u r e by l o c a l
a u t h o r i t i e s g e n e r a l l y and in p a r t i c u l a r by t h o s e - m a n y of t h e m
o p p o s e d t o the G o v e r n m e n t s p o l i c i e s - which stood t o gain f r o m
the p r o p o s e d n e w distribution f o r m u l a .
T h e Cabinet would be
c o n s i d e r i n g the g e n e r a l question of the l e v e l of spending by l o c a l
a u t h o r i t i e s in t h e i r f o r t h c o m i n g d i s c u s s i o n of public e x p e n d i t u r e ;
and the r e v i s e d p r o p o s a l s about the distribution of r a t e support
g r a n t should be c i r c u l a t e d to the Cabinet as soon as p o s s i b l e ,
T h e Cabinet ­
1.
T o o k n o t e , with a p p r o v a l , of the summing up
of their d i s c u s s i o n b y the P r i m e M i n i s t e r ,
2
I n v i t e d the S e c r e t a r y of State f o r the E n v i r o n m e n t ,
in consultation with the Chief S e c r e t a r y , T r e a s u r y ^ t o
r e v i e w the p r o p o s e d t r a n s i t i o n a l a r r a n g e m e n t s on the
l i n e s i n d i c a t e d in the P r i m e M i n i s t e r ' s summing up
and to c i r c u l a t e r e v i s e d p r o p o s a l s as soon a s possible,,
0
3
A g r e e d to r e s u m e t h e i r c o n s i d e r a t i o n of this
q u e s t i o n at an e a r l y meetingo
e
4.
T H E S E C R E T A R Y OF S T A T E F O R S C O T L A N D said that a
m a s s m e e t i n g of f i r e m e n i n G l a s g o w on 24 O c t o b e r m i g h t d e c i d e to
s t r i k e in support of a c l a i m f o r a s p e c i a l a l l o w a n c e of £5 a w e e k ,
although the c a l l f o r s t r i k e a c t i o n , which was against the instructions
of the E x e c u t i v e of the F i r e B r i g a d e s Union, s e e m e d u n l i k e l y to
r e c e i v e full support,
T h e r e w a s a r i s k that the F i r e m a s t e r would
be unable to maintain e v e n the r e s t r i c t e d s e r v i c e that w a s p o s s i b l e
under the p r e s e n t w o r k - t o - r u l e .
T h e only p r a c t i c a b l e a l t e r n a t i v e
a p p e a r e d to b e to use S e r v i c e m e n to p r o v i d e b a s i c f i r e c o v e r in the
City,
In the c i r c u m s t a n c e s p r e v a i l i n g t h e r e could b e no question of
c o n c i l i a t i o n b y the G o v e r n m e n t , but i n v i e w of his s t a t u t o r y r e s p o n ­
s i b i l i t y f o r the f i r e s e r v i c e in Scotland he would be open to c r i t i c i s m
if he did not i n t e r v e n e b e f o r e c a l l i n g on the S e r v i c e s .
He proposed
t h e r e f o r e t o i n v i t e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f both s i d e s to m e e t h i m so that
he could h e a r the f a c t s of the situation at f i r s t hand, a d v i s e t h e m to
have the m a t t e r c o n s i d e r e d in the National Joint C o u n c i l and u r g e the
f i r e m e n aot t o put G l a s g o w at r i s k .
T H E L O R D P R E S I D E N T O F T H E C O U N C I L s a i d that the C i v i l
C o n t i n g e n c i e s Unit had r e v i e w e d the situation.
Although the number
of t r a i n e d f i r e m e n , and t h e amount of f i r e - f i g h t i n g equipment, in the
S e r v i c e s w a s l i m i t e d , about 300 m e n could be m a d e a v a i l a b l e with
equipment f r o m C i v i l D e f e n c e s o u r c e s .
Although the M i n i s t r y of
D e f e n c e had undertaken p r e l i m i n a r y planning, a m i n i m u m of 48 hours
would b e r e q u i r e d f r o m the t i m e when the use of S e r v i c e m e n was
a u t h o r i s e d b e f o i e they could b e g i n to o p e r a t e in Glasgow^, and a
f u r t h e r 48 h o u r s b e f o r e the full 300 would be a v a i l a b l e .
Thus it
would not be p o s s i b l e to p r o v i d e a s e r v i c e b e f o r e 25 O c t o b e r e v e n
if authority w e r e given i m m e d i a t e l y .
M o r e o v e r putting the m e n
c o n c e r n e d on n o t i c e would p r o b a b l y b e c o m e public k n o w l e d g e and
might e x a c e r b a t e the situation b e f o r e the f i r e m e n ' s m a s s m e e t i n g s .
If, h o w e v e r , the d e c i s i o n t o a l e r t the S e r v i c e m e n c o n c e r n e d w a s not
taken until the f i r e m e n s d e c i s i o n w a s known the S e r v i c e s would be
unable to s t a r t o p e r a t i n g b e f o r e 26 O c t o b e r at the e a r l i e s t .
There
was thus a r i s k that inadequate c o v e r might be a v a i l a b l e f o r a p e r i o d
if the s t r i k e had full and i m m e d i a t e e f f e c t .
j
1
T H E P R I M E M I N I S T E R , s u m m i n g up a b r i e f d i s c u s s i o n , said that the
Cabinet a g r e e d that S e r v i c e m e n should be used to m a i n t a i n the
m i n i m u m n e c e s s a r y f i r e s e r v i c e in G l a s g o w if this could not be
achieved by other means.
T h e S e c r e t a r y of State f o r Scotland
should h o w e v e r c o n s i d e r whether t h e r e w e r e other f i r e - f i g h t i n g
s e r v i c e s in Scotland, f o r e x a m p l e at l a r g e f i r m s o r at a i r f i e l d s ,
which m i g h t b e a v a i l a b l e t o p r o v i d e an e m e r g e n c y s e r v i c e .
The
S e c r e t a r y of State should a l s o a r r a n g e to m e e t the G l a s g o w
C o r p o r a t i o n and o f f i c i a l s o f the F i r e B r i g a d e s Union i m m e d i a t e l y
after a d e c i s i o n t o s t r i k e , and should e m p h a s i s e the d a n g e r to l i f e
and p r o p e r t y .
A d e q u a t e c o v e r a g a i n s t f i r e m u s t h o w e v e r be
p r o v i d e d i n a l l c i r c u m s t a n c e s and the L o r d P r e s i d e n t should
t h e r e f o r e g i v e further c o n s i d e r a t i o n to the contingency planning
a r r a n g e m e n t s , g i v e n the need f o r S e r v i c e m e n to b e o p e r a t i o n a l
immediately a strike began.
T h e Cabinet a g r e e d that if n e c e s s a r y
the S e r v i c e m e n c o n c e r n e d , t o g e t h e r with a l l n e c e s s a r y e q u i p m e n t ,
should m o v e into the v i c i n i t y of G l a s g o w b y the t i m e of the m a s s
m e e t i n g s on the f o l l o w i n g day, or as soon as p o s s i b l e t h e r e a f t e r ,
though s e c r e c y should be p r e s e r v e d to the extent that t h i s p r o v e d
practicable.
T h e Cabinet ­
1,
T o o k n o t e , with a p p r o v a l , of the summing up
o f t h e i r d i s c u s s i o n by the P r i m e M i n i s t e r .
2,
I n v i t e d the S e c r e t a r y of State f o r Scotland ­
i.
T o endeavour to enlist the a s s i s t a n c e
of o t h e r c i v i l i a n f i r e - i ^ g h t i n g s e r v i c e s , a s
appropriate,
ii.
T o m e e t the G l a s g o w C o r p o r a t i o n and
the F i r e B r i g a d e s Union, as indicated in the
summing up.
3,
I n v i t e d the S e c r e t a r y of State f o r D e f e n c e to
a r r a n g e f o r the S e r v i c e m e n c o n c e r n e d to b e d e p l o y e d
i m m e d i a t e l y so as to b e r e a d y to b e g i n operating as
soon as p o s s i b l e after the start of a s t r i k e .
4,
I n v i t e d the L o r d P r e s i d e n t of the Council t o
a r r a n g e f o r the contingency planning a r r a n g e m e n t s
t o be kept under c l o s e r e v i e w .
Cabinet
Office
23 O c t o b e r 1973