Savings and. Spendings • Actually expenditure in the corning year
will almost inevitably increase, for though the Civil Service Estimates published this week show a net reduction of about £6,000,000 on last year's figures, the Defence Service Estimates are likely to be up by at least that amount. Curiosity on that point will shortly be satisfied. Mean- while there is no room for complacency regarding the Civil Service• reduction, for while there is, as stated, a net fall of £6,000,000, the Ministry of Labour is asking (thanks to the improvement in employment) for £10,500,000 less than this year, and war pensions have automatically fallen by £2,000,000. Outside these two items therefore there has been a net increase of over £6,000,000. In some cases, as that of widows' pensions (£2,000,000), the rise follows necessarily from past legis- lation, but the conviction that there is still room for economies in Whitehall will not be readily abandoned.
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