§ 45. Sir John Mellorasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why in view of the erroneous figures contained in Command Paper 7697 concerning Government Information Services, that document had not been withdrawn by 15th November although the errors were known to his Department in June; and when a corrected Command Paper will be presented to Parliament.
§ Sir S. CrippsFor reasons of economy, and because the error was small in relation to the total figures, it was thought sufficient to report the facts to the Public Accounts Committee, at whose recommendation the White Paper had originally been presented. I do not now propose to present a corrected Command Paper, which would, in view of the Government's economy proposals, be quite out of date, but the corrected totals for Departmental expenditure will be shown in next year's White Paper.
§ Sir J. MellorWill the Chancellor agree that there were six mistakes in this document, and that the salaries and expenses of the Air Ministry's information staff were shown at a third of the correct figure, a total error of £30,000? Does the right hon. and learned Gentleman regard this as a small drop in the ocean of inaccuracy of Government statements?
§ Sir S. CrippsThere was an obvious misprint in which certain figures in one line were repeated in the next, instead of a new lot of figures.
§ Sir J. MellorIs it not a fact that members of the Public Accounts Committee, as appears in the published minutes, express the view that this document should be withdrawn and a correct version issued? Was it not a fact? May I have an answer?
§ Sir S. CrippsI am not aware, without having the document before me, whether that was so or not.