§ Brigadier-General NATIONasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he can give in a short tabular statement the extent to which the recommendations of the May Report have been carried out or will be carried out before the end of the present financial year?
918W
Sir B. EYRES MONSELLAs intimated in the Statement of the First Lord of the Admiralty explanatory of the Navy Estimates 1932 (Cmd. 4024), it was estimated that the reductions in pay and pension and other administrative economies recommended by the Committee on National Expenditure (after allowing for 919W certain adjustments in the Committee's calculations) should effect a saving in Navy Expenditure in 1932 of £1,828,700. The following table shows the broad dis-
Item. Paragraph of Committee' s Report. Service. Saving estimated by Committee for a full year. Savings actually effected in Navy Estimates, 1932. Remarks. (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) £ £ 1 91 Adjustment of bonus to Industrial employés. 235,000 Fully realised. — 2 111–2 Application of 1925 rates of pay to all Naval personnel, and introduction of revised cost-of-living deduction in Officers' pay. 1,297,000 710,000 The Government decision that reductions in pay generally should not exceed 10 per cent. had the effect of reducing the Committee's estimate by £405,000. The reduction in Fleet numbers in 1932 affected the Committee's estimate by a further £107,000. 114 Less over-estimate by Committee. 75,000 1,222,000 3 162 Introduction of revised cost-of-living deduction from Officers' retired pay and pension. 80,000 Fully realised. — 4 237 Reduction of 10 per cent. in clothing allowances. 88,000 Fully realised. Committee's recommendation not accepted, but an equivalent saving was achieved by a reduction in Grog Money. Less: Adjustment of Committee's figures. 38,000 50,000 5 210 Research and Development 241,700 108,600 The possibility of effecting further economies is under consideration. 6 219 Education 21,300 7 222 Inspection 36,000 8 226 Works' Services 53,100 9 236 Substitution of Royal Marine Police for Metropolitan Police. 10,400 Partial substitution only at present. The question of further substitution is under consideration. £1,828,700 See note. NOTE.—Some part of the savings on items 5–9 flow automatically from the reductions in Naval pay and industrial bonus which are fully reflected in items 1 and 2, and to this extent the total of column (5) is not strictly comparable with that of column (4). But as stated in the Command Paper referred to above, the full saving of £1,828,700 has been worked to in arriving at the requirements for 1932, other reductions or administrative economies being substituted as necessary for those recommended by the Committee where it has not been possible to achieve the full saving in the particular direction referred to by them.