§
Motion made, and Question proposed,
That a Supplementary Sum, not exceeding £570, be granted to His Majesty, to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1936, for the Salaries and Expenses of the Office of the Lord Privy Seal.
§ Mr. W. S. MORRISONFirst of all, there is a restoration of cut in the salary of the Lord Privy Seal amounting to £113, and an item of 2480 is caused by the fact that a senior officer of a higher grade has been moved to this office, and that entails an increase in the amount of salaries. One small item that I ought to mention is incidental expenses, £25. The sole cause for that is that when my right hon. Friend who is now Foreign Secretary was Lord Privy Seal these incidental expenses were borne on the Foreign Office Vote, but since he has been gone to the Foreign Office it has been necessary to create this new sub-head.
§ Mr. WESTWOODMay we have an explanation of what the Lord Privy Seal is doing? What is he, and where is he?
§ The DEPUTY-CHAIRMANNot on this occasion.
Mr. ALEXANDERWe are being asked to vote an increase of salary for the Lord Privy Seal, and I suppose the Lord Privy Seal is to receive an extra sum from the Exchequer. Surely we are entitled to ask who is the Lord Privy Seal, where he is to he found, and what he is doing?
§ The DEPUTY-CHAIRMANThe right hon. Gentleman is entitled to ask who is receiving the salary, but he must remember that on a Supplementary Estimate it is not in order to discuss policy. The question of what the Lord Privy Seal does is a question of policy.
§ Mr. W. S. MORRISONThe right hon Gentleman cannot have followed recent political changes. The present Lord Privy Seal exercises the duties of the Leader of the House in another place.