Sir F. HALLasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if arrangements can be made for a Return to be presented to the House showing the number, establishment, and annual cost of the Government Departments in existence, respectively, at the commencement of the War, at the date of the Armistice, and at the present time, with such information as is necessary to show what proportion of the additional cost now incurred for the Civil Service is due to war allowances as apart from increases in the number of Departments and of staff?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINThe numbers of the staffs employed in the various Gov- 915W ernment Departments (excluding industrial establishments) on the 1st August, 1914, the date of the Armistice, the 31st March, 1919, and various dates since, may be found in the Return presented to the House last July (Command Paper 276) and the subsequent monthly Returns, the most recent of which gives the figures on the 1st October last (Command Paper Cd. 380). Figures of cost cannot be obtained in the form for which the hon. Member asks. At the date of the Armistice, the salary charges of the various Departments were swollen by the payment of "civil pay" to the men serving in the Forces, and the, total payments under this head have not been kept separate from the payments made to the staff serving in the Department. Further, while war bonus payments were additional to salary in the case of permanent staff, temporary employés have, in the main, been engaged at inclusive rates revised from time to time by reference to current market rates. The additional cost due to the War is, therefore, not shown in their case.