36. Captain TERRELLasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the super cut last July in the salaries of the higher civil servants, he has considered the desirability of making still further cuts in the Civil Service bonus as a whole; whether, since there is no likelihood of the cost of living on which the bonus is based falling much lower, or, at least, very appreciably lower, the country is to go on paying the bonus until the cost of living is precisely the same as it was before the War?
Mr. YOUNGAs stated in the House on the 26th July last, the Government propose that the Agreement which governs the cost of living bonus payable to civil servants whose salaries do not exceed £500 a year should continue to apply. In view of the continued fall in the cost of living it is probable that a further substantial reduction of bonus will take effect under the sliding scale on the 1st September next. The question of the arrangements to be made at a more remote date, when conditions become more stable, will require careful consideration in the light of the circumstances then prevailing.