§ 21. Mr. Gwynoro Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the estimated amount to be spent by the Welsh Office in 1974–75 on functions for which it is responsible.
§ Mr. Peter ThomasDetailed Estimates for the Welsh Office for 1974–75 will be presented to Parliament in due course. Estimates of overall public expenditure in Wales within my field of responsibility will be found in the White Paper "Public Expenditure to 1976–77" (Cmnd. 5178).
§ Mr. JonesThe short answer is roughly £430 million. In view of the growing importance of Welsh Office expenditure in the total public expenditure of Wales, may I ask the Secretary of State why he still refuses to instigate discussions to set up and establish a Committee of this House to scrutinise Welsh Office expenditure far more closely than hitherto?
§ Mr. ThomasThe rôle of the Welsh Grand Committee or whichever body it may be in relation to the scrutiny of Welsh Office expenditure is another question. I am satisfied that the arrangement for the scrutiny of Welsh Office expenditure are already very thorough.