§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Prime Minister whether he will publish in HANSARD a detailed statement giving particulars of the action he has taken to reduce the costs of Ministerial Departments and Government expenditure in administration; and what savings have been made to date since 1964 due to such action.
§ The Prime MinisterAs I said in answer to a similar Question from my hon. Friend on 6th April, 1967, economy in administration must be measured in relation to the job which Parliament has decided must be done. Savings in some areas have to compensate to some extent for inevitable increases in others, and it would not be possible without disproportionate expense to give a detailed statement. I would however refer my hon. Friend to my statement on 26th February on Civil Service manpower, in which I drew attention to the standstill on non-industrial staff numbers during 1968–69 and the inquiries which are being carried out by Sir Robert Bellinger.