§ 75. Mr. HANNONasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he can state the precise reasons for the increase in expenditure on Revenue buildings, which in 1913–14 amounted to £640,000, and for which the estimated amount for the current year is £2,141,000?
§ Lieut.-Colonel Sir J. GILMOUR (for the First Commissioner of Works)It is impossible to deal adequately with this matter by way of question and answer, but the general reasons for the increase are the need for increased accommodation for the collection of the Inland Revenue, now over seven times that of 1913–14; the arrears of work, particularly maintenance, accumulated during the War; and the increase in the cost of wages and materials since 1913–14.