Mr. EDMUND HARVEYasked whether in certain districts orders have been given to the Labour Exchanges to obtain the services of persons qualified to help in carrying out the Census, and thereafter countermanded, after provisional arrangements had been made involving a large amount of effort; what system has been adopted for engaging the additional officials required for the Census; and whether persons already in full employment have been given a preference over those, otherwise qualified, who are unemployed?
§ Mr. BURNSI am informed by the Registrar General that he has not seen his way to compel local registrars to take their enumerators through the Labour Exchanges, but that as a proportion, at all events, of the staff of enumerators would doubtless be recruited from among persons not otherwise employed, the Divisional Officers or managers of Labour Exchanges were, with his consent, instructed last autumn to get into touch with the Registrars in order to ascertain whether they could afford any assistance in the supply of enumerators. It is very important to secure competent persons as enumerators for the Census, and experience has shown that men trained in some sort of public service or clerical employment are in the 682 main the best qualified to undertake this duty. The local Registrars, who are primarily responsible for the correctness of the enumeration within their district, and who have the nomination of enumerators in the first instance, would therefore naturally give the preference to applicants from this class, or to persons who have already proved their competence by acting in the same capacity on previous occasions.
§ Mr. BOTTOMLEYasked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention had been called to the fact that some of the Labour Exchanges refuse to register the names of men who are without any settled address; whether such action has the sanction of the Board of Trade; and, if not, whether he will give instructions for its discontinuance?
Mr. BUXTONThe instructions of the Board of Trade are, and always have been, that registration should not be refused to applicants who have no settled address. As, however, in the absence of a settled address it is often impossible to communicate with the applicant should a vacancy be notified, such applicants are not in a position to obtain the full advantage of the exchanges unless suitable posts happen to be vacant at the time when they call. After careful inquiries, I am satisfied that the rule has been strictly carried out, except in the case of one exchange, and this omission was remedied some months ago.