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 the 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.

23. 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.

24. 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 General 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.

25. The Air Ministry in their Estimates, under Appropriations in Aid, show Rents, Sales of Timber and Hay, &c., £105,000. Nearly half of this sum is made up of anticipated realisations from the re-sale of part of Hendon Estate. As this is a capital receipt it should have been shown separately.

26. 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, are jealous of their independence, which in the case of the Admiralty and War Office is the result of a long historic growth. 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.

27. 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 tends to become more and more of a supervisory and formal character. 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.

28. 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 Com

mittees, and that the Medical Co-ordinating Committee should also be linked up with the other Committees.

WORKS SERVICES.

29. On the recommendation of the Mond-Weir Committee two Interdepartmental 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. These two Committees appear to function with reasonable efficiency, subject to the fact that any Co-ordinating Works Committee must have a limited sphere of activity so long as the Works Departments exist as separate bodies.

30. Your Committee took notice of the recommendation of the MondWeir Committee that amalgamation of the Works Departments of the Services was not practicable so long as the Services themselves existed as separate entities in the Government machine.

At the same time it was apparent that the difficulties which would arise in a combined Works Department, doing duty, for all three Services, were most acute in the designing or estimating part of the work. In the actual construction of the works difficulties were not likely to arise.

The evidence given before your Committee showed that in itself an amalgamated Works Department would not be likely to ensure great economy by reductions of overhead charges. The danger of extravagance in the separate Departments lies rather in the difficulty of resisting demands for works by each Department, which may in themselves not be necessary, but which cannot be resisted under the present system of administration.

31. The Committee were informed that the percentage of supervision charges in the Royal Air Force was less than that in the Army, the explanation of this being that in the Army, officers whose pay was borne against supervision charges had also military duties to perform. It appears to the Committee that officers with dual duties should not have their whole pay charged to the estimate for work, as it renders comparison difficult, and accurate costing of the works almost impossible.

32. 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.

33. 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.

Your Committee consider that this arrangement has obvious disadvantages, as it is not 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.

34. Your Committee also notice that there is still considerable overlapping in the works of different Departments in particular areas, with consequent increase of expenditure. Provided that the design and estimating is done under the direct administrative control of the Department requiring the work, there would appear to be no reason for such

overlapping. Your Committee therefore recommend that in all areas in which the work can be supervised by one Department, where the amount of work to be carried out for any one Department is noticeably smaller than the work carried out by another Department, then the Department doing the greater amount of work should be charged with the whole of the works in that area.

In Egypt there would appear to be no reason why separate Works Departments should be maintained both by the Air Force and the Army, and at the same time the Office of Works should be responsible for the actual repairs in certain Government diplomatic buildings. The whole of this work should be adequately and economically performed by one Department.

35. The Committee had due regard to the fact that the estimates of the Air Ministry are necessarily less precise than those of the Army, because of the large building programme now being undertaken by the Royal Air Force consequent on its expansion. At the same time they consider that the estimates of the Air Ministry should have considerably more precision than is at present apparent. 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.

36. In their detailed exmination 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. Your Committee 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. This is an example of bad administration.

37. Your Committee noted that at Halton a large reduction had been made in the estimate for hospital accommodation now being provided. This reduction would appear to indicate that either in the original estimate of accommodation required there had been considerable exaggeration, or that the original design was undoubtedly extravagant. The Committee noted, however, that even with the altered figures the cost per bed of accommodation provided was considerably higher than that in corresponding military hospitals. Your Committee were also informed that, although the new hospital will have 180 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 cannot accept this statement, and consider the estimate for the new staff required to be extravagant.

38. 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, and it would not appear to have been impracticable to have obtained lecture accommodation for such a small number of students in the middle of an educational establishment like Cambridge University.

39. The Committee investigated the scale of hospital accommodation provided for the Royal Air Force at Halton and at stations abroad. They notice that there did not appear to be a fixed scale, even as a basis of calculation, of the proportion of hospital accommodation to establishment required. Where accommodation was required it was provided on

the basis of the requirements of the year immediately preceding that in which the demand was met. This does not appear to the Committee to be a scientific or economical method of laying down a scale of hospital accommodation.

LANDS.

40. The question of lands differs in many particulars from that of works. The reasons which obtain against any suggested amalgamation of the Works Departments, so long as the Services are themselves separate, do not appear to be valid for the work carried out by the various Land Departments.

41. The Committee note that the lands' work of the Royal Air Force is already done in close communication with, and under the general supervision of, the Lands Department of the War Office, but the Committee consider that this is not sufficient, and that there is no reason why the whole of the taking-up of lands, administration of lands after having been taken up, and the disposal of any lands which become surplus to requirements, should not be undertaken by one central Department, and preferably by the Directorate of Lands, working under H.M. Office of Works.

42. While the Committee's attention was, in the main, directed to the Fighting Services and the Office of Works, they were informed that it was not only in these Departments that the anomaly of a separate Lands Branch exists.

It would appear that the following Departments of State are capable of holding lands under the present system, viz:

Admiralty.

War Office.

Air Ministry.
Office of Works.

Treasury Solicitor.
Home Office.

Prison Commissioners.
Office of Crown Lands.
Forestry Commissioners.
Ministry of Transport.
Post Office.

In the opinion of the Committee, with the possible exception of the Forestry Commissioners, there would appear to be no adequate reason why the whole of the lands required by these branches of Government should not be entrusted to a Central Lands Branch acting under the Directorate of Lands, H.M. Office of Works.

43. Your Committee are, of course, aware that the Mond-Weir Committee took no evidence on this question, as the Howard-Frank Committee had the matter under consideration at that time. 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.

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

45. After having considered all the evidence available the Committee do not consider that any amalgamation of personnel would lead to such economies as to outweigh the obvious disadvantages of separate recruiters. The Committee, however, note that there is considerable divergence of the system whereby the personnel is obtained in the three Services. 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

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 the Committee to be justifiable, and they recommend definitely that with a view to economy officers on the retired list should be used for this service.

While the 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 available for this excess.

46. 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 an Army doctor, the Naval Agent should be abolished.

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

CHAPLAINS' DEPARTMENT.

48. The Committee noted that the amalgamation of the Chaplains' Department had been considered and rejected by the Mond-Weir Committee.

At the same time, they were unable to find any adequate reason why such amalgamation should not take place, with a probable considerable reduction in overhead charges, and in the total establishment required.

It does not appear to your Committee that the different circumstances and conditions under which chaplains have to carry out their work in the three Services necessarily require whole-time training and occupation in a particular service.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING.

49. The 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.

Technical training is given to such airmen as may care to join these classes, with a view to fitting themselves for employment in civil life, but no attempt is made beyond this to give vocational training in the sense that it will fit a man leaving the particular kind of work to which he has to devote himself during his period of service for work obtainable in civil life.

The Committee received definite statements from the Services that there would be no objection to the men of one Service joining the