HC Deb 06 July 1914 vol 64 cc811-3
24. Mr. PETO

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his Department have recently made any inquiries as to the rates of wages paid to agricultural labourers in England, Scotland, Ireland, or Wales; whether his Department have any figures relating to agricultural wages more recent than 1907; and, if so, whether he will have these figures printed and circulated as a White Paper?

Mr. BURNS

Since the issue of the Report referred to by the hon. Member, information with regard to agricultural wages has been given in each of the Annual Reports dealing with changes in rates of wages and in the Annual Abstracts of the Labour Statistics of the United Kingdom. As this information only refers to cash rates, it is desirable that the figures given in the 1907 Report, covering all extra payments and allowances, should be brought up to date, and I am proposing to take steps for this purpose during the coming autumn.

Mr. PETO

Will the right hon. Gentleman say whether it will not be possible in view of the great importance of this question to hurry up the steps he is taking so that the information may be available during the present Session?

Mr. BURNS

I may inform the hon. Member that we have accelerated what steps are necessary. We have the consent of the Treasury and the matter is proceeding.

Mr. PETO

If the right hon. Gentleman finds that he has at the Board of Trade statistics sufficiently accurate for the information of hon. Members to make it worth while, will he put it in the form of a White Paper?

Mr. BURNS

I think that by the time those figures were collected we should have much more reliable figures, owing to a more complete investigation which is being made.

Mr. CHARLES BATHURST

Can the right hon. Gentleman say at what date will this official information be forthcoming?

Mr. BURNS

I think it is undesirable between now and the end of the harvest that farmers and others should be supplied with schedules at their busiest time of the year, but as soon as the harvest is over we hope to collect all this information and get it as reliable as possible.

Lord ROBERT CECIL

Would it not be possible to collect in one paper the information referred to for what it is worth so that we should have that information before us in some available form instead of having to search through all the documents?

Mr. BURNS

For what it is worth I will consider the suggestion of the Noble Lord.

Mr. PETO

Is it not clear to the right hon. Gentleman that if these schedules are not sent out to the farmers until after the harvest operations he will not get any figures during the present year?

Mr. BURNS

The hon. Member is mistaken. I did not say I would not send out the schedules, but I would not expect the farmers to fill up the schedules while the harvest is going on.