§ 64. Sir W. Smithersasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can state, approximately, to what extent the figures of estimated expenditure for 1945 and 1965, given in paragraph 268 of the Beveridge proposals include, or are in excess of, the cost of existing social services of about £540,000,000 per annum?
§ Sir K. WoodAs the answer contains a number of figures, I will, with my hon. Friend's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the answer:
§ Expenditure on public social services, of which figures are given annually, amounted to £531,000,000 in 1938 and to £507,000,000 in 1940, the decline being due primarily to the fall in unemployment. These figures include expenditure on certain services outside the scope of the Beveridge proposals, notably, education, housing, and war pensions, of which the cost in 1940 was £124,000,000, £54,000,000 and £41,000,000 respectively. On the other hand, the Beveridge proposals include industrial pensions in replacement of workmen's compensation, 2261 the cost of which, estimated to be £13,000,000, is not included in the returns of expenditure on public social services. My hon. Friend will find in paragraphs 74 and 75 of the memorandum by the Government Actuary which accompanied the Beveridge Report (pages 203–205 of the Report) a comparison between the estimated expenditure in 1945 under the Beveridge plan and estimated expenditure in the same year on existing services falling within the scope of the plan. The latter is there estimated at £415,000,000.