HC Deb 23 November 1948 vol 458 cc1200-2

Considered in Committee under Standing Order No. 84 (Money Committees).—(King's Recommendation signified.)

[Mr. WILLIAM WELLS in the Chair]

Motion made, and Question proposed, That, for the purposes of any Act of the present Session to make further provision for civil defence, it is expedient to authorise—

  1. (a) the payment out of moneys provided by Parliament—
    1. (i) of any expenses incurred by any Minister in discharging functions exercise-able by him under or by virtue of that Act, including any sums required for paying grants or compensation; and
      2. 1201
    2. (ii) of any increase resulting from any of the provisions of the said Act in the sums which, under Part I or Part II of the Local Government Act, 1948, fall to be paid out of moneys so provided;
  2. (b) the payment into the Exchequer of any sums received under or by virtue of the said Act of the present Session by any Minister."—[Mr. Ede.]

9.57 p.m.

Mr. Charles Williams (Torquay)

The Committee must have some explanation of this Financial Resolution. I do not wish to take up too much time, but I would point out that this Resolution involves the expenditure of a certain amount of money and we are the body primarily responsible for expenditure. The Home Secretary should give us some idea of the expenses to be incurred by any Minister and also he should tell us what is involved in the rest of this Resolution.

Mr. Ede

As has been explained in the course of the Debate, the expenditure to be incurred will depend upon the amount of the resources available and used for this purpose. As my right hon. Friend the Minister for Health has just indicated, it is not intended at the moment to make any large inroads on expenditure in these matters. It would be very foolish of me in the changing situation with which we are faced to give any estimate of what is likely to be incurred in any particular year in which this Bill will be in operation. The hon. Member for Torquay (Mr. C. Williams) can rest assured that we shall not spend more than is required, and that what we spend will be most efficiently used.

Mr. Williams

If it had not been for that last extremely provocative remark, I might have let this pass. Nothing has ever been done by this Government that could be said to be efficient in any way. When the right hon. Gentleman makes a deliberately provocative statement of that kind at the end of a Debate, he can hardly expect the present Opposition—at any rate, as far as I am concerned—not to follow the advice of the right hon. Gentleman the Leader of the House, who has repeatedly told us that the job of the Opposition is to oppose.

The Temporary Chairman

The hon. Gentleman is straying rather far from the terms of this Financial Resolution.

Mr. Williams

I have no wish to stray from the Financial Resolution. I was pointing out that we had heard from the right hon. Gentleman a claim that this money would be efficiently administered. I claim that the reverse is the case. I would further point out that this commits the taxpayer to the expenditure of a large sum of money——

It being Ten o'clock The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN left the Chair to report Progress, and ask leave to sit again.

Committee report Progress; to sit again Tomorrow.