CAB129-37 — Page 1063

Printed for the Cabinet. December 1949

SECRET

C.P. (49) 252

17th December, 1949

CABINET

Copy No. 31

LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAN-POWER

MEMORANDUM BY THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER

Following a decision taken by the Economic Policy Committee on 9th November, 1948 (E.P.C. (48) 35th Meeting, Minute 1), the Prime Minister approved proposals which I submitted to him after consultation with the Minister of Health for setting up a Joint Committee o

representatives of central and local government, under Treasury Chairmanship, to review the administrative arrangements between central and local government in England and Wales with a view to economy of man-power. I have now received the First Report of this. Committee and, with the Prime Minister's approval, I announced, in answer to a Question in the House of Commons on 15th December, that it would be published as a Command Paper early in the New Year. I circulate the Report herewith for consideration by the Cabinet.

2. The Committee have so far concentrated, in accordance with their original instructions, on simplifying the numerous forms of control by Govern- ment Departments over local authorities, and agreement has been reached at the Departmental level on a wide range of detailed recommendations which are summarised in the Appendices. The next stage of the Committee's work will be to tackle the problem of achieving actual savings of man-power and improve- ment of procedures ont of achieving actual savings ment of procedures on Committee have adumbrated

e local authority side. The in the last paragraph of the Report on pages 4-5 the way in which they propose to tackle this.

3. The only points on which I think that the Government need reserve their position are those at which some further legislation is foreshadowed. These, however, are long-term matters which are not of immediate importance. Subject to this, I commend the Report to my colleagues for their approval.

4. Although the Treasury have so far taken the lead in the work of the Committee, since it involved co-ordination of a number of different Government Departments, I think that any questions about the implementation of the Report in the different Departmental fields should be handled by the Ministers concerned and that the responsibility for any general follow-up action on the Report as a whole should be taken by the Minister of Health.

R. S. C.

Treasury Chambers, S. W. 1,

17th December, 1949.

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