§ MR. CHARLES ACLAND (Cornwall, Launceston)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will consider the claims of those Inland Revenue officers who are employed in such extra departmental duties as the collection of agricultural statistics for the Board of Trade to some remuneration for their services, in addition to their salaries received for their services in the Department in which they are regularly employed?
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Mr. JACKSON,) Leeds, N.From the 1st of September last an increase in the scale of salaries was granted to the Excise Service, involving an additional annual cost of over £30,000, and on maximum salaries such cost would amount to something like £50,000. 427 Prior to this a sum of about £11,000 was annually paid for the work connected with the agricultural statistics; but when suggesting the grant of the new scale the Board of Inland Revenue recommended that this amount should no longer be paid to the officers, and that no extra remuneration whatever (except expenses out of pocket) should be granted to them for the Agricultural Returns work, which was to be regarded as forming part of their ordinary duties. In some cases no doubt the change will, in the first year or two, involve a relatively small loss to some officers, but such loss can bear no comparison with the gain, for the new scale gives larger increments and improved prospects. The increase in salaries, moreover, counts towards superannuation, whereas the awards for Agricultural Returns work did not. It must also be borne in mind that, in as far as it can be shown that the collection of Returns caused an increase of expense in travelling or for subsistence during prolonged absence from home, it will be met by a corresponding increase of payment on these accounts, whereas formerly the increased cost was paid by the officer out of his award. The Government regret that after the position of the Excise officers has been so generously dealt with a leaflet, such as probably prompted the present question, has been issued by members of the Service.