A Watch on Petrol
The House of Commons Select Committee on Estimates justi- fies itself afresh by every new report it issues. The latest example deals with the use and misuse of petrol by Government Depart- ments. No scandal is brought to light, but the system by which each Department asked for all the petrol it thought it would like, and the Ministry of Fuel and Power had no alternative but to comply, was plainly wrong. And the failure of the Departments —other than the Service Departments—to observe the to per cent. cut called for in August, 1947, is a matter for serious criticism. N.AA.F.I., moreover, and some similar organisations, always got all they asked for. The Select Committee is satisfied that these minor abuses have now been checked—pretty obviously a belated step taken in anticipation of the committee's report.
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