The Civil Estimates The tax-payer has little comfort to derive
froth a study of the Civil Estimates for 1988-84. Though the figures show an apparent' reduction of about £82,000,000 on the actual (as opposed to the estimated) expenditure of last year, £29,000,000 of this is accounted for by the fact that only three months provision is made for transitional benefit. Practically all the saving will dis- appear unless there is an improvement in unemploy- ment. As the savings on the Road Fund, Education and Irish Free State Services amount to nearly £4,000,000, it will be seen that the total on other estimates is slightly up rather than down. So much for the efforts of economy committees. It is only fair to recognize that far the greater part of this expenditure arises from obligations to which the Government is committed by Acts of Parliament. Though something could un- doubtedly be done by the rigid rationing of departments there is no hope of any spectacular reduction of estimates by this means. There are only three ways of cutting large slices off the total expenditure, one of which Mr. Chamberlain has already adopted—by reducing the cost of the Debt services (as by Conversion) by agree- ments with other countries which will promote Defence cuts, and by diminishing unemployment. The cost of the latter is the most variable and uncertain of all the elements in annual expenditure.
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