EXECUTIVE BOARD
Tuesday, 31st. December1940

Present:

D.G.

D.D.G.

Sir Maurice Peterson

Lord Davidson

Sir Kenneth Clark

Mr. Radcliffe

Mr. Fraser

Mr. Wellington

Mr. Gates

Mr. Waddell (Secretary)

The minutes of the meeting on 27th December taken as read and approved.

WORK ON COMMISION FOR OTHER GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS.

Sir Kenneth Clark referred to the difficult position which had been reached in the Ministry's relations with Department which had not taken to criticism the Ministry of the taste or of the media proposed for campaigns on their behalf. He said that Mr. Pick had frequently been in a position to criticise effectively on the economic use of advertising media as well as on questions of taste, and other Departments had been inclined to way. The Ministry must obey their instructions or accept the position that the Departments would themselves carry out their own publicity work. We had maintained that we must have an effective voice, and whilst the position remained in this unsatisfactory state he felt we would have continual conflict. A particularly acute problem was likely to arise in the course of the next week with the Board of Trade in connection with a campaign to persuade the public to accept shortage of various commodities. The proposal at present was that Press advertising should be used for this purpose, but it seemed much wiser to do the job editorially.

The D.D.C. explained that the Ministry had the support of the Treasury on the general question so far as finance was concerned, i.e. the Ministry would be supported if its criticism of the points of finance could be shown to be sound. On the particular case of the Board of Trade the question had been complicated by the Minister having been approached by the President of the Board of Trade. The Minister, however, had not understood that the Board of Trade proposals would mean establishment of a large publicity organisation within the Board of Trade, and the present position was that the Treasury did not approve the ambitious proposals by the Board of Trade, but had agreed to the employment of a Mr. Davenport to consider the requirements 217 of the situation from the Board of Trade point of view and then to get in touch with the Ministry.

The principle was reaffirmed that the planning Committee should be in a position to decline an undertaking on behalf of another Department if it thought the campaign unwise or the media proposed unsuitable. It would perhaps be necessary for the Board itself to consider particular cases, since, as Lord Davidson pointed out, campaigns had to be considered in relation to the policy of the Ministry. In illustration of this point, Sir Kenneth Clark said that as German propaganda would on any evidence of ill-health or concern about ill-health in this country, it would be very undue for us to run a campaign on inoculation in the way proposed by the Ministry of Health, which would involve a good deal of emphasis on the incidence and dangers of diphtheria.

Reference was also made during the discussion to the difficulty of the B.B.C.'s position in keeping in order the demands made by other department frequently involved questions of ministerial amour propre The D.G. remarked that he thought the Minister had received the Prime Minister's authority for requiring other Ministers to obtain permission to broadcast at an agreed time only through the Ministry. The D.G. said he would mention this matter to the Minister.