§ Captain Kerbyasked the Prime Minister (1) if he is aware that, under the Letters Patent issued originally in the reign of King James II, the Admiralty is not subject to the same degree of Treasury control as is exercised over all other Departments, and that the position with regard to the exact line of demarcation between expenditure which has to be referred to the Treasury and that which is left to Admiralty discretion is vague and unsatisfactory; and what steps he is taking to bring all Admiralty expenditure under the direct control of the Treasury;
(2) whether the Treasury were specifically consulted, and gave their approval to the final expenditure of some £20 million on the modernisation programme of H.M.S. "Eagle", expenditure more than double the original esti- 198W mate of under £10 million, or whether the modernisation of this carrier was carried out under the traditional discretionary powers, not subject to strict Treasury control, vested in the Admiralty by the Letters Patent issued originally to them in the reign of King James II.
Mr. AmoryI have been asked to reply.
I am aware that under their Letters Patent the Admiralty has a responsibility to maintain the Fleet in an efficient and up-to-date fighting condition. This duty has hitherto been taken in practice, as absolving the Admiralty from obtaining specific Treasury sanction for a wide range of expenditure on upkeep of ships. The whole matter was examined by the Select Committee on Estimates and reported on in their Sixth Report, Session 1957–58, on Treasury Control of Expenditure. The same Report dealt with the particular case of the modernisation of H.M.S. "Victorious", to which I assume the second Question refers. Prior Treasury sanction for this modernisation was not obtained; but the matter was subsequently discussed by the Ministers concerned, and the Treasury were kept informed of the progress of the modernisation and the reasons for successive increases in cost. The Select Committee recommended that major modernisations should require Treasury sanction. This and other questions of Treasury control arising out of the Report are being discussed between the Treasury and the Admiralty, and decisions on the future extent of Treasury control will be made in due course.