HC Deb 30 June 1944 vol 401 cc963-9
Considered in Committee.
[Mr. CHARLES WILLIAMS in the Chair]
I. Whereas it appears by the Navy Appropriation Account for the year ended the 3ist day of March, 1943, that, as shown in the Schedule hereunto appended, the total surpluses and deficits on Navy Votes for that year are as follows:
Total Surpluses, namely: £ s. d. £ s. d
Surpluses of actual as compared with estimated receipts (Votes 2–6 and 8–16) —— 36,493,279 8 4
Total Deficits, namely:
Deficiencies of actual as compared with estimated receipts (Votes 1 and 7) 37,875,574 4 7
Excesses of actual over estimated gross expenditure 591,708,473 8 9 629,584,047 13 4
Net Deficit (charged to the Vote of Credit) £593,090,768 5 0
And whereas the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury have temporarily authorised the application of surplus receipts realised under Votes 2 to 6 and 8 to 16 towards making good the deficit in receipts under Votes 1 to 7.

my colleague. This Committee stage is almost as pleasant as my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer said just now the Third Reading stage of the Finance Bill had been. The answer to the point my hon. and learned Friend makes is that I did consider the possibility of the Attorney-General and the Solicitor-General both being either absent or ill, but one must hope it will not happen. Lawyers, on the whole, have to be, by the nature of their profession, a fairly hardy race. Of course one can always imagine anything—one can imagine all the Secretaries of State being ill at once. And so I thought we had better stop here. My hon. and learned Friend is quite right. In theory, there is only one Secretary of State, and therefore each of the individual Secretaries of State can perform any functions which, either by Statute or in Common Law, have to be performed by the Secretary of State. But even if that were a possibility, I cannot think that my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State would welcome a decision which put on their shoulders rather knotty legal problems and made them responsible for decisions which Parliament thought ought to be entrusted to trained lawyers. All I can say to my hon. and learned Friend is that one must just hope that one or other of us will be here to carry out the functions.

Question, "That the Clause stand part of the Bill," put, and agreed to.

Clauses 2, 3 and 4, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported, without Amendment; read the Third time, and passed.

SCHEDULE.
No. of Vote. Navy Services, 1942, Votes. Deficits. Surpluses
Excesses of actual over estimated gross Expenditure. Deficiences of actual as compared with estimated Receipts. Surpluses of actual as compared with estimated Receipts.
£ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d.
1 Wages, etc., of Officers and Men of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, and of certain other Personnel serving with the Fleet 49,722,888 1 1 37,875,564 4 7 —
2 Victualling and Clothing for the Navy 43,027,544 3 7 — 9,814,379 11 10
3 Medical Establishments and Services 2,574,144 7 0 — 114,003 17 7
4 Civilians employed on Fleet Services 4,498,780 18 4 — 5,593 18 11
5 Educational Services 329,926 14 0 — 70,316 3 6
6 Scientific Services 2,771,658 16 0 — 91,905 13 11
7 Royal Naval Reserves 28,701 13 6 10 0 0 —
8 Shipbuilding, Repairs, Main tenance, etc.: 443,369,417 12 1 — 24,579,263 11 3
Section I—Personnel
Section II—Materiel
Section III—Contract Work
9 Naval Armaments
10 Works, Buildings and Repairs at Home and Abroad
16 Merchant Shipbuilding
11 Miscellaneous Effective Ser vices 28,876,984 17 0 — 1,711,742 14 2
12 Admiralty Office 5,298,767 6 1 — 29,703 4 1
13 Non-effective Services (Naval and Marine)—Officers 1,863,970 13 3 — 13,107 5 3
14 Non-effective Services (Naval and Marine)—Men 5,591,521 15 1 — 62,707 1 3
15 Civil Superannuation, Allowances and Gratuities 1,337,502 13 11 — 556 6 7
— Balances Irrecoverable and Claims abandoned 1,816,663 17 10 — —
591,708,473 8 9 37,875,574 4 7 Total Surpluses
Total Deficits £629,584,047 13 4 £36,493,279 8 4
Net Deficit met from Vote of Credit £593,090,768 5 0 "
Resolved: "That the application of such surpluses be sanctioned."—[Mr. Assheton.]
"II. Whereas it appears by the Army Appropriation Account for the year ended the 31st day of March, 1943, that, as shown in the Schedule hereunto appended, the total surpluses and deficits on Army Votes for that year are as follows:
Total Surpluses, viz: £ s. d. £ s. d.
Surpluses of actual as compared with estimated receipts (Votes 2–15) 9,865,820 1 4
Total Deficits, viz.:
Deficiencies of actual as compared with estimated receipts (Vote 1) 12,324,364 19 6
Excesses of actual over estimated gross expenditure 796,807,663 8 6 809,132,028 8 0
Net Deficit {charged to the Vote of Credit) £799,266,208 6 8
And whereas the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury have temporarily authorised the application of surplus receipts realised under Votes 2 to 15 towards making good the deficit in. receipts under Vote 1
SCHEDULE.
No. of Vote. Army Services, 1942, Votes. Deficits. Surpluses.
Excesses of actual over estimated gross Expenditure. Deficiencies of actual as compared with estimated Receipts. Surpluses of actual as compared with estimated Receipts.
£ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d.
1 Pay, etc., of the Army 310,611,131 9 9 12,324,364 19 6 —
2 Territorial Army and Reserve Forces 7,238,304 14 8 — 35,965 14 8
3 Medical Services 4,794,701 13 2 — 120,567 3 8
4 Educational Establishments 1,867,309 17 4 — 3,852 7 10
5 Quartering and Movements 74,272,761 3 1 — 806,691 5 8
6 Supplies, Road Transport and Remounts 193,482,642 6 4 — 3,535,703 14 2
7 Clothing 5,538,629 11 11 — 49,005 10 0
8 General Stores 28,213,746 13 11 — 203,873 17 3
9 Warlike Stores 9,671,517 0 4 — 38,783 19 6
10 Works, Buildings and Lands 119,825,925 7 7 — 2,541,394 5 1
11 Miscellaneous Effective Services 29,010,798 15 7 — 1,134,397 7 3
12 War Office 2,866,125 14 8 — 4,802 13 5
13 Half-pay, Retired Pay and other Non-effective Charges for Officers 3,249,621 2 5 — 649,712 6 1
14 Pensions and other Non-effective Charges for Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, men and others 1,799,334 15 11 — 740,950 9 0
15 Civil Superannuation, Com-pensation and Gratuities 322,195 6 3 — 119 7 9
— Balances Irrecoverable and Claims Abandoned 4,042,917 15 7 — —
796,807,663 8 6 12,324,364 19 6 Total surpluses
Total Deficits £809,132,028 8 0 £9,865,820 1 4
Net Deficit met from Vote of Credit £799,266,208 6 8"
Resolved: "That the application of such surpluses be sanctioned."—[Mr. Assheton.]
"III. Whereas it appears by the Air Services Appropriation Account for the year ended the 31st day of March, 1943, that, as shown in the Schedule hereunto appended, the total surpluses and deficits on Air Votes for that year are as follows:
Total Surpluses, namely: £ s. d. £ s. d.
Surpluses of actual as compared with estimated receipts {Votes 2–11) 42,995,051 4 5
Total Deficits, namely:
Deficiencies of actual as compared with estimated receipts (Vote 1) 51,571,256 10 2
Excesses of actual over estimated gross expenditure 454,866,264 10 0 506,437,521 0 2
Net Deficit (charged to the Vote of Credit) £463,442,469 15 9
And whereas the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury have temporarily authorised the application of surplus receipts realised under Votes 2 to 11 towards making good the deficit in receipts under Vote 1.
Schedule.
No. of Vote. Air Services, 1942, Votes. Deficits. Surpluses.
Excesses of actual over estimated gross Expenditure. Deficiencies of actual as compared with estimated Receipts. Surpluses of actual as compared with estimated Receipts.
£ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d.
1 Pay, etc., of the Air Force 130,889,833 8 1 51,571,256 10 2 —
2 Quartering Non-Technical Stores, Supplies and Transportation 57,356,831 6 1 — 2,422,331 16 2
3 Technical and Warlike Stores 65,596,022 5 3 — 36,410,270 4 11
4 Works, Buildings and Lands 163,112,849 12 9 — 3,325,684 4 7
5 Medical Services 843,838 4 9 — 104,114 19 1
6 Educational Services 998,902 11 2 — 2,602 17 4
7 Reserve and Auxiliary Forces 303,906 12 9 — 722 0 7
8 Civil Aviation 2,933,838 13 11 — 164,818 17 1
9 Meteorological and Miscellaneous Effective Services 26,602,412 4 6 — 518,142 19 6
10 Air Ministry 3,650,717 11 10 — 1,098 4 7
11 Half-Pay, Pensions and other Non-effective Services 962,302 8 4 — 45,265 0 7
— Balances Irrecoverable and Claims Abandoned 1,614,809 10 7 — —
454,866,264 10 0 51,571,256 10 2 Total Surpluses
Total Deficits £506,437,521 0 2 £42,995,051 4 5
Net Deficit met from Vote of Credit £463,442,469 15 9"
Resolved: "That application of such surpluses be sanctioned."—[Mr. Assheton.]
Resolutions to be reported upon Tuesday next.