§ MR. BRADLAUGHI beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether 124 any addition has been made during the present financial year to the staff of the Labour Bureau; whether any, and what, further increase in the staff is now proposed; whether he will state its present exact strength and cost; and whether the Government will take any steps to give greater efficiency to the Labour Statistical Department?
§ SIR MICHAEL HICKS BEACHNo actual addition to the staff engaged on labour statistics has been made during the present year, but proposals for a few additions to the clerical staff and for special arrangements to obtain statistical tables, and a report on the proportion of wages to profits and costs of productions, and for similar reports on kindred subjects, from time to time, are now before the Treasury. The numbers at present exclusively employed on the work are eleven, whose aggregate salaries, including the duty pay of a gentleman who is largely engaged on other work, amount to £1,723. I hope by means of the present staff and the additions now proposed to add materially to both the periodical and occasional publications of the Department. In particular, I look forward to presenting at an early date a Report on profit sharing as well as the Report on wages and cost of production to which I have just referred. This will be additional to the subjects already being dealt with periodically or otherwise.