§ 37. Mr. Swinglerasked the Minister of Defence if he is now in a position to state by how much the estimated defence budget for 1954–55 will be underspent.
§ The Minister of Defence (Mr. Harold Macmillan)Final figures for 1954–55 will not be available until the Appropriation Accounts are published. It will be some months before any accurate estimate of outturn can be given, but the amounts drawn from the Exchequer by the Defence Departments, which will be included in the Exchequer Returns published on Friday, will give a rough indication.
§ Mr. SwinglerIs it not possible for the Minister to give some indication now of what the amount of the over-estimating or under-spending has been?
§ Mr. MacmillanAs I have stated, I would rather wait for the rough estimate until Friday, which will not be very long, when the Exchequer Returns will be available.