§ MR. H. J. CRAIG (Tynemouth)To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he has considered the advisability of introducing such improvements into the conditions of service and remuneration at present obtaining in the Marine Department of the Board of Trade as will place the clerks on the survey staff, whose work is likely to be increased under the new Merchant Shipping Act, more nearly in as favourable a condition as that enjoyed by similar clerks employed by private corporations.
§ (Answered by Mr. Lloyd-George.) The position of the clerks to the Board of Trade surveyors was fully considered by the Treasury in 1903, and improvements effected in their scales of pay. It is probable that the work of the survey staff will be increased under the Merchant Shipping Act of last Session, and steps have already been taken to inquire further into the position of these clerks.