H.—lla

Fire Service activities during 1943. The expenditure of £150,745 shown in the statement below is the net sum brought to charge during 1943-44 after deducting the sum of £41,960 for the sale of trailer pumps and £16,075 for hose surplus to the reduced requirements of the Service. (c) Emergency Precautions Scheme. —The main items of expenditure under this heading were subsidy to E.P.S. organizations, £80,040, and miscellaneous E.P.S. equipment, £76,064. The cost of a considerable quantity of equipment received during 1942-43 but not brought to charge by 31st March, 1943, is included in this latter figure. It will be noted that the expenditure in 1943-44 was £164,422, as against £299,631 in 1942-43, a reduction of £135,209, and in this connection the tapcring-off of E.P.S. activities is reflected in the reduction of £104,773 in the amount of subsidy paid to E.P.S. organizations as compared with the previous year's figure of £184,813. During the year the sum of £P2,482 was received from the sale of equipment surplus to requirements. (d) Home Guard. —Includes initial expenditure in connection with the Home Guard such as armlets, capitation grants, and rifle impressment and reconditioning. This Department ceased to meet Home Guard expenditure on 31st July, 1941, when the control was transferred to the Army Department. (e) Industrial Mobilization. —This item covers payment of travelling-expenses, loss of earnings, separation allowances, and financial assistance to workers directed to essential undertakings under the Industrial Man-power Emergency Regulations 1944, reimbursement of travelling-expenses to members of Man-power Utilization Councils and Committees, and establishment costs of war workers' hostels. The main items of expenditure were travelling-expenses, £9,068, separation allowance, £8,364, and financial assistance, £2,355, paid to directed workers, and £12,402 part capital cost of establishing war workers' hostels. (/) Women's Land Service. —This includes the cost of uniforms to members, travel concessions, uniform-upkeep allowance, travelling-expenses, and subsidies to employers for training inexperienced girls; The main items of expenditure were uniforms and equipment, £41,460 ; upkeep allowance, £5,920 ; and subsidy to employers, £2,673. (g) Women's War Service Auxiliary. —The gross expenditure under this item during 1943-44 was only £565, mainly on uniforms, and as against this credits amounting to £1,176 from the sale of uniforms were received, leaving a credit of £611 for the year. The small amount of expenditure in 1943-44 is accounted for partly by the fact that sufficient uniforms had already been manufactured for the Auxiliary and partly for the reason that the organization, which to some extent is selfsupporting, had passed the stage where it was necessary to incur establishment charges. (h) Rehabilitation. —Prior to Ist November, 1943, when the Rehabilitation Department was established, the National Service Department controlled expenditure from War Expenses Account, Subdivision V, for rehabilitation purposes, and the total amount spent by this Department up to the 31st October, 1943, was £60,061. Full details of this expenditure will be shown in the annual report of the Rehabilitation Board. The foregoing figure does not include rehabilitation administration expenses, charged in the first instance to vote " National Service."

The following is a summarized statement of expenditure for the last four years : —

25

Years ended Total. 31st March, 31st March, 31st March, 31st March, 1941. 1942. 1943. 1944. Administration expenses charged to vote " National Service " in the first instance — £ £ £ £ £ Salaries .. .. .. 94,954 139,847 227,387 262,924 725,112 Other charges .. .. .. 79,538 98,897 156,786 143,352 478,573 174,492 238,744 384,173 406,276 1,203,685 Other expenditure charged direct to War Expenses Account — Defaulters'detention camps .. .. 12,297 172,813 133,246 318,356 Emergency Fire Service .. .. 72,022 130,420 150,745 353,187 Emergency Precautions Scheme .. 596 4,339 299,631 164,422 468,988 Home Guard .. .. .. 1,748 10,604 .. 12,352 Industrial mobilization .. .. .. 584 9,213 32,079 41,876 Women's Land Service .. .. .. 36 1,870 53,318 55,224 Women's War Service Auxiliary .. .. 15,482 9,537 Gr. 611 24,408 176,836 354,108 1,007,657 939,475 2,478,076 Promotion of employment expenditure 2,412,786 1,288,432 374,179 157,253 4,232,650 met from vote " Labour "