§ Brigadier-General NATIONasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air 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?
§ Sir P. SASSOONExclusive of Research and Inspection, under which heads the Report did not allocate the savings to be made as between the three fighting services, the original May Committee recommendations may be said to have covered specific savings on Air Services totalling £299,000. The actual savings, partly permanent and partly non-recurrent, ultimately effected under all heads of 1932 Air Estimates (including Research and Inspection) amounted to approximately £900,000. In addition £50,000 was saved on expenditure on Air Services borne on the Colonial and Middle Eastern Votes, making a grand total of £950,000 savings.
The subjoined table summarises the position in so far as the actual May Committee recommendations are concerned.
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MAY COMMITTEE. Summary of Recommendations (page 215 of Report). Estimated saving in Air Votes, 1932. Remarks. £ £ Abolition of preferential bonus paid to Government Industrial employés. 15,000 15,000 — Introduction of 1925 rates of pay for all personnel of the Fighting Services. 92,000 72,000 The limitation of the pay reductions to 10 per cent, conceded by His Majesty's Government, reduced the saving by £20,000. Introduction of revised cost of living deduction for officers of the Fighting Services. 45,000 45,000 — Reduction of pay of teachers by 20 per cent. 14,000 7,000 The limitation of the reduction to 10 per cent. conceded by His Majesty's Government, reduced the saving by £7,000. Introduction of revised cost of living deduction from pensions of officers of the Fighting Services. 4,000 4,000 — Reduction of Education Votes by 10 per cent. 48,000 48,000 Certain specific recommendations of the Committee under this head were not accepted, but their over-riding recommendation that a cut of 10 per cent. should be made on educational services was more than fulfilled, a total reduction of £61,000 being effected. Works Votes 45,000 45,000 — Reduction of clothing allowances by 10 per cent. 11,000 11,000 — Abandonment of new programme of research in civil aircraft. 25,000 18,000 The new programme for 1931 was abandoned as recommended, but the whole sum of £25,000 could not be saved in 1932. Total £299,000 (1) £265,000
Add— Other general recommendations of the Committee: £ Reduction of expenditure on Research and Technical Development. (See Remarks column.) 54,000 The May Committee recommended that a 12½ per cent. cut should be made over the Research Expenditure of the three fighting services as a whole, but left open the actual saving to be found by each service. The actual saving found to be possible in the case of Air Votes was £54,000. Reduction of inspection costs. (See Remarks column.) 1,000 The recommendation was for a cut of 10 per cent. over the fighting services as a whole, but it was subject to no reduction being made in items vital to safety of life; this stipulation automatically excluded almost the whole of Royal Air Force inspection. Total (2) £55,000 Add also— Other savings in Air Estimates and on air services in Colonial and Middle Eastern Services Vote. (3) £630,000 — Grand Total of (1), (2) and (3) £950,000