§ Flight-Lieutenant Ethertonasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, whether his attention has been drawn to the great amount of detailed information published in the volumes containing the Civil and Revenue Department's estimates; and whether he will consider achieving a considerable saving of labour in the Departments and of paper and printing by reducing the amount of such detail?
§ Captain CrookshankThis Question is at present under active consideration. The Estimates are the basis of the constitutional procedure for obtaining the necessary Supply for the year, and the House is entitled to expect all reasonable information regarding the purposes for which the Supply is required, subject, of course, in time of war, to the requirements of security. For this reason any suggested reduction in the amount of detail in the Estimates has to be very carefully examined in order to ensure that a proper952W standard of information is maintained. Nevertheless, hon. Members will probably be willing in present conditions to accept a reasonable reduction of detail as a purely war-time measure, if such reduction is found practicable. In the meantime, I may mention that it is proposed in next year's Estimates to omit the customary statistical Statements (generally known as the "Allied Service" Statements) which have hitherto been appended to, the principal Votes, showing the amounts included in the Estimates for other Departments in connection with the same service.