Lord Robert Cecil, who presided, made several further suggestions. He
proposed that a Budget Committee should be formed in order to help the Chancellor of the Exchequer by discussion and advice ; that a Standing Committee on Admin- istration should be appointed to keep watch on the staffs employed by the larger Departments ; that the costly Labour Exchanges should be abolished ; that the functions of the Ministry of Transport should be distributed among other departments ; .that the Ministries of Shipping, Munitions, and Food should be brought to an end as soon as possible ; and that the Ministry of Pensions should be required to stabilize pensions with a view to reducing the cost of administration. Lord Robert Cecil very justly pointed out that a department may be economical within its own sphere and yet wasteful owing to its -lack of co-ordination with others. Supervision should concern itself with services as a whole rather than with particular departments.
