58 and 59. Captain CROOKSHANKasked the Chancellor of the. Exchequer (1) if his attention has been called to the fact that in the various Votes of Class 5 of the Civil Estimates 12 of the sub-heads, Salaries, Wages, and Allowances, show an increase this year and only five a decrease; and whether he will indicate what steps he is taking to reduce the cost of the administration of the country;
(2) if his attention has been called to the fact that in Class 6 of the Civil Estimates 22 of the sub-heads, Salaries, Wages and Allowances, in the various Votes show an increase this year and only nine a decrease; and whether he is taking every possible step to reduce the actual cost of the administration of this country by the Civil Service?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLI am fully aware of the variations on the sub-heads relating to salaries, wages and allowances in the Estimates referred to. The whole question of the cost of administration is receiving the continuous attention of His Majesty's Government. I might perhaps add that taking the classes of the Civil Estimates for 1927 as a whole, five show a net increase and four a net decrease on the sub-heads for salaries, wages and allowances, in comparison with the corresponding Estimates for the last financial year; and that the net increase on these sub-heads over the whole field of the Civil Estimates is approximately £50,000. The increased staff required for the Contributory Pensions Act alone is far more than sufficient to account for this increase.