The 1960s were vital years for British nationalized industries. They saw important changes in structure and organization, improved performance, and evolving methods of accountability. Originally published in 1973, Leonard Tivey spotlights the major developments of the decade with a carefully selected series of readings, many of which are drawn from official documents. These were not always readily accessible to the student of public administration, and gathering together the most significant of them would contribute to a better understanding of the developments that had taken place and of their implications.
During the period covered by this book the steel industry was renationalized, the Post Office was transformed from a government department into a public corporation, the coal industry and passenger and freight transport services were extensively reorganized, far-reaching proposals were formulated for air transport, and the financial policies governing the railways underwent significant change. The political and economic ideas and the management concepts that animated these various developments are clearly brought out by the author's choice of extracts.
A major problem that had lately dominated the thoughts of those responsible for running the nationalized industries was the financial and economic criteria that should determine the Government's policies towards them – generally and in regard to particular industries. How far, for example, does the old distinction between 'commercialism' and 'national or social interest' continue to have any importance for the determination of policy? Tivey's choice of readings thoroughly illuminates questions of this kind which lay at the heart of public policy relating to the nationalized industries.
The issue of economic criteria had been closely linked with the question of ministerial control. Although at one time Ministers were expected to be concerned only with the broader policy questions relating to the nationalized industries, these in practice lead them into issues that the Boards regard as coming within the ambit of management. The Select Committee on Nationalized Industries of the House of Commons had given close attention to this matter, and extracts from its reports, and academic comment on them, gave the reader a fuller understanding of the essential problems involved. Today it can be read in its historical context.