§ 12. Sir David Priceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in his review of public expenditure, he will consider the establishment of uncommitted contingency reserves in the major spending Departments which would be available to those Departments to meet unforeseen demands arising during the financial year in question; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Minister of State, Treasury (Mr. Peter Brooke)The purpose of the Reserve is to meet unforeseen demands arising during the year, for all spending Departments.
§ Sir David PriceGiven my hon. Friend's defence of contingency reserves as a whole, why cannot the large spenders, who cannot be assumed to be more accurate than the Treasury, be allowed a contingency reserve, which is what one does in every large company, down to the smallest standards of budgets?
§ Mr. BrookeAs it is impossible to foresee on which programmes unforeseen demands on the Reserve will arise in the course of the year, the Reserve has to be central and not split among Departments. Specific departmental reserves would be unnecessary and inefficient.
§ Mr. SoamesIf my hon. Friend were to permit such a contingency reserve at the Ministry of Defence, will he stipulate that not one penny of that money should go to that sink of profligacy, the Procurement Executive, whose, incompetence and mismanagement have led to an appalling waste of money on Nimrod and the torpedo programme?
§ Mr. BrookeAs, on behalf of my right hon. Friend, I have no intention of assigning such a contingency reserve to an individual Department, the question is hypothetical.