functioning for the War Office as regards the supply of certain furniture, and functioned to a very much larger extent during the War, with resultant economy. Your Committee, therefore, do not consider the War Office objection a reasonable one, and recommend that the Office of Works should in future purchase all furniture for the Service Departments including the War Office.

19. Whilst your Committee agree with the view expressed by the Mond-Weir Committee in regard to the development of the Agency system, they desire to point out that the charge made by different Government Departments for the same class of service, is not the same. There may be reasons for these variations in some cases, but your Committee understand that whilst all charges made by the Office of Works are regularly submitted to the Treasury for review, the charges made by other Departments are not submitted with the same regularity. Your Committee recommend that all charges made by Government Departments for Agency services should be submitted to the Treasury for review and approval, at least once a year. The charges made to the Air Ministry for various services by other Departments are printed as an Appendix to this Report.

20. The Air Ministry and Ministry of Pensions have a joint contract with the War Office for the supply of medical stores. Your Committee see no reason why the Admiralty should stand out of this contract.

21. Surplus Stores were at one time sold by the Disposals Board, but Departments are now authorised to dispose of their own normal surpluses. Whilst your Committee realise the advantage of allowing the sale of surplus stores to be appropriated to Departments' own Votes, they are not satisfied that there is sufficient collaboration in the matter. They, therefore, suggest that a co-ordinating Sub-Committee of the Contracts Committee should be formed to include representatives of the Admiralty, War Office (including Ordnance Factories), Air Ministry, and Post Office as being the Departments which account for the largest sales, and that other Departments having stores for disposal should invariably consult with this Sub-Committee.

22. The Air Ministry in their Estimates, under Appropriations in Aid, show Rents, Sales of Timber and Hay, etc., £105,000. As a large part of this sum is made up of anticipated realisations. from the re-sale of property, it is a capital receipt and should have been shown as such.

23. Your Committee have drawn attention to several instances where co-ordinating Committees have failed to act owing to lack of agreement. These Committees primarily represent the three Fighting Departments, which, whilst functioning for a similar purpose, have always been anxious to maintain their independence. It is obvious that under these circumstances situations may arise which would cause a complete deadlock. Your

Committee consider that if the representation of the Contracts Co-ordinating Committee could be widened, there would be less likelihood of this happening, and they recommend, therefore, that the other large contracting Departments, namely, the Post Office, Office of Works, Stationery Office, and Ministry of Transport, should be permanently represented on the Contracts Co-ordinating Committee.

24. The Treasury as the central financial authority of the State exercises its control over establishments, estimates, and contracts. Your Committee have observed, however, that, partly for historic reasons, and partly owing to the growth of other Departments, Treasury control over contracts and supplies is and tends to become more formal. They suggest, therefore, that it would strengthen the hands of the Treasury if they also had a permanent representative on the Contracts Co-ordinating Committee.

25. The Mond-Weir Committee recommended that there should be general consultation between the main Contracts Co-ordinating Committee and the five Technical Committees, but your Committee are doubtful to what extent this recommendation has been carried out. They suggest there should be definite and continual consultation between these Committees, and that the Medical Co-ordinating Committee should also be linked up with the other Committees.

WORKS SERVICES.

26. On the recommendation of the Mond-Weir Committee two Inter-departmental Committees were set up in 1923 to ensure co-ordination between the Office of Works and the three Service Departments on questions relating to Accommodation and Works Services.

27. Your Committee noticed that it was difficult, if not impossible, to make an accurate comparison of the supervision charges incurred by the various Works Departments owing to the different systems of preparing the estimates in each Department. There would appear to be no reason for this divergence of systems in Departments whose work is so similar, and your Committee recommend that steps should be taken forthwith to ensure that these estimates, and the general system of Works accounting in the Fighting Services and Office of Works should be made precisely similar. This task should be given to the Inter-Departmental Works Co-ordinating Committee, with a definite date assigned for its completion.

28. Your Committee were informed that the percentage of supervision charges for works in the Royal Air Force was less than that in the Army because Army officers, whose pay was borne against supervision charges, had also military duties to perform. Officers with dual duties should not have their whole. pay charged to the estimate for work.

29. Your Committee observed that the Director of Works in the Royal Air Force works directly under the orders of the Chief of Staff, whereas in the Army the corresponding official, the Director of Fortifications and Works, works under an administrative member of the Army Council.

Whether it is desirable that the same member of Council should be charged, both with the direction of policy and the administrative duties involved in the carrying out of the policy which he recommends, is a matter which deserves further consideration.

30. Your Committee observe that there is still considerable overlapping in the works carried out for different Departinents in particular areas, with consequent increase of expenditure. Provided that the present responsibility for design and estimate remains unchanged there would appear to be no reason for such overlapping. Economy would result if supervision and execution was entrusted to the Department responsible for the largest amount of work in that area.

31. Your Committee consider that the Works Estimates of the Air Ministry should be more precise than is at present apparently the case. During the past few years in the Vote for Works, it has been the practice of the Ministry to show large sums under general headings of Improvements, or Married Quarters, both for Home Stations and in Egypt, without specifying at what station the money is to be spent, or whether it is additional to an estimate already submitted for a particular station. This practice is open to grave objections and should cease forthwith.

32. In your Committee's detailed examination of the Works under execution by the Royal Air Force, it was brought to notice. that at Halton a dental hut was being erected at a cost of £3,700 in the middle of the camp. They were informed that this was solely to suit the convenience of the establishment, although accommodation could have been made available in the hospital which is also being erected in the same camp.

Your Committee were also informed that, although the new hospital at Halton will have nearly a hundred fewer beds than the existing one, accommodation for the same staff is being provided. The Air Ministry stated that this was due to the fact that the existing hospital is under-staffed. After comparing the existing staff with that of other hospitals, your Committee do not agree with this statement, and consider the estimate for the new staff to be excessive.

33. It was also brought to the notice of your Committee that a separate timber-framed lecture hall was erected at Cambridge. for the use of the Cambridge University Air Squadron. The strength of this squadron was given as under 50. It should have been possible to obtain lecture accommodation for such a small

number of students in an educational establishment like Cambridge University without building a new hall.

34. Your Committee were informed that the Air Ministry were spending about £15,000 on the reconditioning of aeroplane sheds, workshops and offices at Hendon for two Auxiliary Air Force Squadrons. They were further informed that, although it had also been decided to station two regular squadrons there in about two years time, it was proposed to erect separate workshop accommodation for them. In view of this proposed establishment, your Committee see no reason why the siting could not have been so arranged that the workshop accommodation being erected could have been made available for both the regular and auxiliary squadrons, with a consequent saving of expenditure.

LANDS.

35. Your Committee are aware that the Howard-Frank Committee were appointed to examine the question of concentrating in one Department all Government purchases of lands and buildings and the management of the estates of the Crown and Government property. This Committee reported in May, 1922, and your Committee were informed that their recommendations were at present under consideration. As over four years have elapsed since this Committee reported, your Committee suggest that in the interests of economy some decision might be reached at an early date.

RECRUITING.

36. The Committee investigated the possibility of amalgamation of recruiting personnel and accommodation required for recruiting for the three Fighting Services.

37. After having considered all the evidence available, your Committee do not consider that any amalgamation of personnel would lead to such economies as to outweigh the obvious advantages of separate recruiters. They, however, note that there is considerable divergence in the system whereby the personnel is obtained in the three Services. In the Army the recruiting personnel is, with the exception of a part-time officer at the War Office, entirely found from retired officers and men.

In the Air Force there are four officers on the active list employed, namely, two medical and two air officers. The employment of officers on the active list for this service does not appear to your Committee to be justifiable, and they recommend that with a view to economy officers on the retired list should be used for this service.

While your Committee notice that a considerable reduction in establishment for recruiting has been made in the present

year in the Royal Air Force, it would still appear that the establishment in proportion to the number of men recruited is considerably higher than that employed in the other Services, and no adequate reason was given for this excess.

38. The Admiralty appear to employ a number of Surgeons and Agents on medical examination of recruits, and other work. These Agents are stationed all over the country, and are paid by Capitation Fees. The Admiralty stated that there were no Army doctors at places where these Agents were stationed, but your Committee have ascertained that this is not correct. They therefore recommend that in any Station where there is au Army doctor, the Naval Agent should be abolished.

39. Your Committee understand that the question of recruiting accommodation is now being investigated by an InterDepartmental Committee which was set up, after your Committee began their present investigation, and they do not therefore express any opinion on the subject.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING.

40. Your Committee note a marked difference in dealing with the question of vocational training in the three Services. While the Army have extensive establishments at Hounslow and at Catterick, the vocational training in the Air Force is confined to service trades and to instruction in educational subjects, as distinct from handicrafts.

Your Committee received definite statements from the Services that there would be no objection to the men of one Service joining the vocational training establishment of another, and they, therefore, recommend that the vocational training establishments conducted under the War Office should be made available for men of the other Services.

SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL RECOMMENDATIONS.

(1) That the staff of the Air Force Stationery Store should be reduced.

(2) That in the case of the hospital services of the three Fighting Services and the Ministry of Pensions, similar methods of costing should be adopted and medical forms standardised to facilitate comparisons.

(3) That the question of the amalgamation of the naval and military hospitals at Malta, at Devonport and Plymouth, the two Air Force hospitals at Baghdad, and the military hospital at Cosham with either Netley or Haslar should receive early consideration.

(4) That the War Office civilian hospital at Chatham and the Ministry of Pensions hospital at Fernbank should be closed.