§ Q2. Mr. Hamlingasked the Prime Minister whether he is satisfied with the co-ordination of the Treasury and the Ministry of Defence with regard to the control of defence expenditure both at home and overseas; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Prime MinisterYes, Sir.
§ Mr. HamlingWould my right hon. Friend not agree that in the past, whereas the social services have been strictly controlled by the Treasury, the Defence Department seems to have got away with murder?
§ The Prime MinisterNo, Sir, that is not true. If my hon. Friend will look at the expansion in expenditure in the social services, whether by the Ministry of Social Security alone or more widely, he will find that in the last three years it has increased much more considerably than defence, where real cuts have been made.
§ Mr. PowellIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Ministry of Defence has failed by a long way to achieve the savings in overseas expenditure to which he pledged himself last July?
§ The Prime MinisterYes, Sir, but we intend to carry out those in full by the end of the financial year which we are just entering. If the hon. Gentleman was speaking for his party when in the defence debate he referred to the size of forces which he would keep in Germany, I cannot tell him—because I have not calculated it—how many more tens of millions would be added to the offset costs and to budgetary expenditure.
§ Mr. ThorpeIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that one serious aspect of defence expenditure has been the amount spent on projects which were subsequently cancelled, of which Blue Streak is but one example? Does he not think that there is a very strong case for looking at the whole system of quotation and costings on defence contracts and also a case for a Select Committee on Defence?
§ The Prime MinisterThere has been very great concern for many years in the House about some of these cancellations, many of which were extremely costly. As a result of inquiries by successive Governments and by the Public Accounts Committee—which went right through the Blue Streak story and that of Ferranti and the rest—improved arrangements have been made which should minimise the risks of cancellation of very expensive projects and wasteful expenditure.