§ Mr. HARMSWORTHasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether, seeing that the Treasury staff numbered, approximately, 270 in 1914 and 800 in 1925 1265W and their salaries in these respective years were, approximately, £92,000 and £320,000, he will give reasons for the trebling of the staff and for the salary total having been more than doubled?
§ Mr. McNEILLThe figures quoted by my hon. Friend cover, in addition to the Treasury, various other Departments or sub-Departments which in themselves account for more than half of the total staff of 800 referred to in the question. It is not possible within the limits of an answer to a Parliamentary question to deal with each of these separate entities, which are specified in Vote 3, Class II of the Estimates. As regards the Treasury itself, the increase is due, as the Geddes Committee on National Expenditure recognised, to the great increase in volume and complexity of the financial and administrative business of Government. I might add that the Geddes Committee, in Chapter IV of Part XI of their Report, deliberately refrained from recommending any reduction in the Treasury establishment, on the ground that nothing should be done to detract from the efficiency of the Treasury machine for controlling expenditure and effecting economies.