On the Final Stage, I want to pursue very briefly the matter I raised on the Committee Stage; that is, the possibility of making economies, especially at the present time when they are so badly needed. I think it is generally agreed that a certain number of these Ministerial appointments are due to the emergency conditions. These appointments necessarily entail a whole host of what I call followers—secretaries and officials of various kinds. However, much the Minister for Finance, whose position I do not envy, wishes to stop it, he is confronted with experts who tell him that this and that is necessary; that you must have a department with people to do this and that. Then no matter how much he might like to put his foot down, he is over-ruled by his colleagues in the Cabinet and that is the way the thing goes on. Those who know something about it will realise the risk if it were insisted on. There are unfortunate political reasons why that cannot be done. Will the Minister at least consider this? All these new appointments will be made to a certain extent from existing members of the staffs by transfers. But any new entrants taken on now to cover this war emergency should be on a temporary non-pensionable basis, so that they will not be a millstone round the neck of the Administration for all time. Everybody in business knows—it is the same with a Government—that the difficulty is that you have hosts of people dug in who are pensionable and irremovable. Then it is argued that sooner than put them out on pension you have to keep them there doing unnecessary work. The Minister has a great opportunity now, when there will be a demand for fresh people owing to the war emergency, to say: "Any new people coming in now above the normal entrants shall be non-pensionable so that they can be got rid of when the emergency has passed." I hope the Minister will seriously consider that one practical step towards urgently needed economies.
Minister and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 1939—Final Stages.
Question—"That the Bill be received for final consideration"—put and agreed to.
Question proposed: "That the Bill do now pass."
Question put and agreed to.