§ Sir C. KINLOCH-COOKEasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that the outside labour taken on at the Royal Dockyards is as a rule met by local requirements; whether he can cite any specific case during the last three years in which there has been an inefficiency of local labour when labour has been required at any of the naval ports; whether heads of departments will be allowed in the altered circumstances to send to the Labour Exchanges for the men they know and the men they want; is he aware of the feeling that is generated by giving work to men coming, say from Portsmouth to Devonport instead of employing Devonport men and vice versâ, and of the fact that this feeling will be generated if the Labour Exchanges throughout the kingdom are used for the supply of men at naval ports; and of what practical value will it be to have a comprehensive list available at the local office which is in touch with similar offices throughout the kingdom when there is more than sufficient local labour to meet the demand?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAAs regards unskilled labour, dockyard requirements can usually be met locally, but it has frequently been necessary to obtain skilled mechanics from a distance, as the local supply was exhausted. Heads of departments can, and do, send to the Labour Exchange for men they know. As far as possible local men are engaged, and as every care is taken only to bring men from other towns when necessary, I see no reason to anticipate the friction which the hon. Member suggests. As regards the last part of the question, I have already stated that the local supply is not always sufficient to meet requirements; and I have nothing to add to my previous answers, and the answer given yesterday by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade, in regard to the assistance which Labour Exchanges are able to afford to the yards.
§ Sir C. KINLOCH-COOKEWill not the net result of this change be to add materially, artificially, to the number of persons engaged in Labour Exchanges?
§ Dr. MACNAMARANo, there is no change of substance in our policy, and the anxieties which the hon. Gentleman foresees are quite groundless.