§ MR. ARTHUR HENDERSONI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Deparment when the Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories 820 for 1905 will be issued, and when the statistical Return of persons employed in workshops during 1901 is likely to be available; and when the volumes for 1903 and 1905 may be expected.
§ *MR. GLADSTONEI hope that the Annual Report will be issued before the end of this month. It is already completed, but some time is unavoidably occupied in getting it through the press. As regards the second part of the question, considerable delay in the tabulation by the Factory Statistics Branch of the Returns which were called for in 1901, was caused by the work of preparing a new card register of all places under inspection, which had to be undertaken by the branch about the same time; and it was decided by my predecessor at the end of 1904 not to proceed further with the workshop portion of the Returns; but, instead, to give precedence to the workshop portion in the tabulation of the 1904 Returns which were called for at the beginning of 1905. This has been done, and a Return of persons employed in workshops will be published in the course of the present year. The Returns being triennial, no statistics will be published for 1903 or 1905.
§ MR. ARTHUR HENDERSONWill the right hon. Gentleman undertake that this Report shall be issued in a reasonable time before the Vote for this Department is brought up for discussion.
§ *MR. GLADSTONEI will do my best to secure that.