§ 17. Mr. JOYNSON-HICKSasked the Home Secretary whether the proposed Minister of Ways and Communications, before coming to terms with the municipal engineers to give them a statutory 1356 security of tenure, communicated with their employers, the various local authorities?
§ Mr. SHORTTThe answer to the question is in the negative. Before the Minister received the deputation from the County Surveyors Society, the Institution of Municipal and County Engineers and the Institution of Municipal Engineers, he had decided to endeavour to give effect to strong representations made by the Road Board that a permissive Clause should be inserted in the Bill by which local authorities might receive a moiety of the cost of the salary of the road surveyor and the establishment charges of that officer, and the deputation was so informed. An almost similar Clause was in the Finance Bill, presented to the House in May, 1914, when the principle of classification of roads was accepted.
§ Mr. JOYNSON-HICKSDoes my right hon. Friend mean to say that he never communicated with any county or local authorities before adopting a plan to give their servants statutory security of tenure, so that they could not be dismissed by their employers?
§ Mr. SHORTTI cannot add anything to my answer.