§ 15. Mr. Masonasked the Minister of Supply, in view of the financial losses suffered by his Department on recent research and development of aero-engines, airframes, the Sea Vixen and the development of a new radar scanner, much of which was incurred by underestimating the costs of these projects, what steps he is taking to ensure that such waste of public moneys will not occur in the future.
§ Mr. W. J. TaylorMy right hon. Friend is very conscious of the importance of improving standards of estimating in what is a very difficult field; and he is constantly seeking ways of doing so. On the other hand, the hon. Member should not assume that an excess of final cost over first estimate necessarily indicates waste or loss.
§ Mr. MasonRecognising the fact that obviously a lot of benefit will accrue to the people concerned from the research being done, and in view of the fact that we have lost a lot of money on research and development projects which have been brought to fruition at tremendous cost on which we have not been able to get the outlay back again, does the hon. Gentleman not really view this with concern? Is he not aware that because of this waste on redundant mansions for 906 the War Office and the development of aero-engines and all the items which the Minister is responsible for selling, his Department qualifies to be called the Department of Waste, not of Supply?
§ Mr. TaylorI do not accept that at all. There is no single cause for inaccurate estimating to which the Question refers and, consequently, there is no single remedy. The administrative procedures of the Department are always under scrutiny with a view to improving techniques for estimating. We try to analyse precisely what a particular project entails and to bring more informed critical judgments to bear on the estimate of cost of each stage.