§ Mr. Bossomasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he will now consider requesting all Government Departments to cut down their staff by some fixed percentage, as was successfully achieved on occasions during 1939–45.
§ Mr. JayThere has been a reduction of some 36,000 or 5 per cent. in the total number of non-industrial civil servants since October, 1948, as a result of a sustained and selective drive for economy. Possibilities of further economy are under continuous review, though the needs of the defence programme must have first priority. An arbitrary cut of some fixed percentage applying equally to all Departments would be clumsy, wasteful, and harmful to re-armament.