CAB129-45 — Page 174

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For this reason the additional administration would be com

We are

paratively small as would be the additional costs. quite unable to estimate what would be the additional numbers or the additional cost. Indeed, we do not know what might be the cost of administering the War Service Grants scheme on the same basis as in the last war. During the eight years 1940 to 1947 total grants amounted to £75 millions with grants in a peak year totalling £18 millions and the total number of awards was about one million. Higher Service pay, so far as it applied to the Forces in time of war,

would, of course, reduce the number of cases outside as well as inside the public services. Our conclusion is that any improvement in the War Service Grants scheme on the lines we have suggested would add very little to the total bill. Moreover, such a scheme would inevitably be cheaper than balance of civil pay, mainly because it would not take into account increments in the Civil Service. At the same time increases of Service pay would lead to reductions in the amount of grant and no grants whatever are payable in respect of single men without dependants or commitments. There is, however, the general objection to the extension of any such scheme as an alternative to balance of civil pay, in that its administration must involve something in the nature of a "means test".

The burden of administration of balance of civil pay. The administration of the balance of civil pay scheme involves a very con- siderable amount of clerking. The civil servant himself nominates the person to receive balance of civil pay and payment is made by the Depart- ment. Changes in Service emoluments have to be notified immediately to the Civil Department and acknowledgments obtained, and the Depart- ment adjusts the balance of civil pay and notifies to the Service Paying Authority the amount of any over-issues of civil pay to be deducted from the Service emoluments. In the case of service overseas some interval will necessarily elapse between the date from which the Service emolu- ment is increased and the date when the balance of civil pay can be reduced,

During this period there will necessarily be an over-issue of civil pay.

In order that the dependant to whom balance of civil pay is payable may not be inconvenienced these over-issues of balance of civil pay are normally deducted from Navy, Army or Air Force emoluments. The burden of administration falls, therefore, not only on the Civil Department but on the Paymaster, particularly as notifications of changes in civil pay reach the Paymaster often at a considerable interval after the effective date and adjustments have to be made from future pay to produce the correct eventual payment. Even if the administration were to be simplified in some respects, it would still remain formidable, whereas most of the work would disappear if balance of civil pay were discontinued.

10.

The burden of administration of the War Service Grants Scheme. For the reasons which we have given in paragraph 7 above, we do not consider that any extension of the scope of the War Service Grants Scheme is in itself likely to add appreciably to the cost of administration. Clearly, however, the number of cases to be dealt with under the Grants scheme would be increased by applications from those who, had they received balance of civil pay, would have been ineligible for grant.

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The arguments for and against balance of civil 175 of 587 Page

civil pay.

of 587

We recapitulate the arguments for and against balance of

Arguments in favour of civil pay:-

(a) Under conscription and the policy of reserved occupations a

man has no choice as to the part he plays in a war. It is unjust that the family of a man called up to the Armed Forces should suffer financailly compared with that of his colleague retained in civilian employment. The comparison which

will seem to those concerned the immediate and obvious one will be between two colleagues, one of whom is called up and one of whom is not. The comparison between men coming to the Forces from different civil occupations, one granting balance of civil pay and one not, will not seem so direct and anomalous.

(b) The public will expect that the system sanctified by the prac- tice of the last three wars will be continued in a future war. In particular those civil servants who had permission from their Departments to join the Territorial Army and the Naval and Air Force Reserves presumably did so in the belief that they would receive balance of civil pay if they were called up in an emergency.

(c) Even if the Government decided against balance of civil pay,

some other employers wuld almost certainly regard it as their duty to give it to the families of their employees. The Government ought to offer better treatment to public servants than that accorded by the less generous employers to their staff. Otherwise there will be an embarrassing distinction between "good employer" policy and Government policy. But, apart from this, it can fairly be said that the Govern- ment, as an employer, should and does take great care over the selection of its employees and demands high standards of efficiency and conduct. In return it gives an expectation of a certain standard of living over a period of years. It has, therefore, an obligation to mitigate, so far as possible, any drop in this standard when an employee is called away to carry out his duties as a citizen.

(d) The alternative to the balance of civil pay is not complete dis-

regard of hardships but more extensive provision to meet them. But any scheme for special grants like the National Service Grants involves investigation into a man's commit- ments and a means test of this kind is bound to be unpopular.

(e) Over the next few years, very large numbers of Class Z and

Class G reservists will be required on mobilisation and in the first few months thereafter as reinforcements for the Forces. The great majority of these men will have received balance of civil pay in the recent war, and will no doubt be confidently counting on receiving it if called up in a future emergency. It could not but have an adverse effect on their morale if, at a time when they are being called upon to do periods of Page training, they were told that they would notgeregvef balance

of civil pay if called up in a future emergency.

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12.

Arguments ag

Arguments against balance of civil pay