HC Deb 19 December 1916 vol 88 cc1406-8

(1) Any Minister appointed under this Act may appoint such secretaries, officers, and servants as the Minister may determine.

(2) There shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament to any Minister appointed under this Act, and also to any Under-Secretary to a Secretary of State while he performs the duties of Minister of Blockade, an annual salary not exceeding two thousand pounds, and to the secretaries, officers and servants of each of the Ministries established under this Act, such salaries or remuneration as the Treasury may from time to time determine.

(3) The expenses of each of the Ministries established under this Act, to such amount as may be sanctioned by the Treasury, shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament.

Mr. SHERWELL

I beg to move, in Sub-section (1), after the word "Minister"["any Minister appointed"], to insert the words "with the approval of the Treasury."

I move this Amendment simply for the purpose of preserving some control over what might become in the course of time an indefinite multiplication of officials. It is one of the misfortunes of the conditions under which this House works that we have diminished the power of financial control to something less than we would under normal conditions regard as reasonable, and the role of the watchdog of the public purse has, by the involution of things, become the Treasury Departments, and I certainly think that at a time when we are introducing, and rightly introducing as I believe, outside experts for the practical conduct of the real business of the Departments of the State, it is very important that we should not give away our traditions by allowing unlicensed and unlimited powers to the heads of Departments to appoint excessive staffs. It is solely to guard against that possible danger that I submit this Amendment.

Sir G. CAVE

The Clause of the Bill is in the common form, and these officers cannot be remunerated without the consent of the Treasury. I suppose it would be possible to appoint a secretary with, no salary at all; if so, we do not want to prevent that.

Mr. SHERWELL

May I point out to my right hon. Friend that the check is not really so complete as he has indicated? If the Committee observe the drafting of the Clause they will see that the payment of these officers is made man- datory, and the Treasury has no real power over the number of officials. It is possible that a sum might be granted for the maintenance of these Secretaries, and the effect might be that a number of officials appointed by the head of the Department might receive smaller salaries than they would otherwise be paid.

Amendment negatived.

Clause ordered to stand part of the Bill.