§ Mr. W. Clarkasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the budgetary expenditure on the social services, separately, for each of the next 10 years, on the assumption that present governmental policies and rates remain unchanged.
§ Mr. BarberForward estimates of the cost of National Insurance (including the Exchequer contribution) are contained in the report by the Government Actuary 241W accompanying the National Insurance Bill now before the House (Cmnd. 1935).
Estimates of public expenditure on the other social services, of which budgetary expenditure is in some cases only a part, are made in order to provide a perspective for Government decisions. The need for this was brought out in the report of the Plowden Committee on the control of public expenditure (Cmnd. 1432), which also accepted that it would be difficult for the Government to publish the results. The Government nevertheless realise the public interest in its long-term surveys of expenditure, and will review the question of publication in relation to this summer's revision of the forecasts.