§ 7. Mr. HARTSHORNasked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the official estimate that, taking the last four weeks in tile coal industry, the highest figures obtainable without any stoppages or without any holidays represent 200 tons per person employed, and the official estimate that the average number of persons employed in the latest period for which figures are available was 1,154,500, he will say whether the best four weeks since 16th July were the weeks ending 18th October, 25th October, 8th November, and 15th November; whether the average weekly output for those four weeks was 4,743,090 tons; whether that represents an output at the rate of 246,640,680 tons per annum and of 213 tons per person employed; and, if so, whether he will say on what the official estimate of 200 tons was based?
§ Sir A. GEDDESI presume the hon. Member alludes to the statement made by me in the course of the Debate in the House on the 28th November. My statement had reference to the best consecutive four weeks' output we have had since 14th July, weeks in which there were no holidays or stoppages to affect the figures seriously. Taking these output figures as a basis for estimating an annual output after making due allowance for holidays and stoppages, and having regard to the average number of persons employed during these four weeks, namely, 1,163,500, an annual output per person employed of approximately 200 tons is arrived at.
§ Mr. HARTSHORNIs it not a fact that the right hon. Gentleman asserted that if you take four weeks' output as the basis, without any stoppage or without any holidays, you cannot get more than 200 tons annually per man? Here is the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Sir A. GEDDESI do not think so. That was not what was in my mind. I said the best four weeks. I did not mean the best four isolated weeks. Taking the recognised holidays into consideration it turned out that we get 200 tons per person employed per annum.
§ Mr. HARTSHORNWhat allowance in the estimate does the right hon. Gentleman make from now to the remainder of the year for holidays and stoppages?
§ Sir A. GEDDESIt is not a question of the remainder of the year, but a yearly rate calculated from a four weeks' period. Therefore, one would have to allow the usual holidays—Christmas, New Year, Easter, Whitsuntide, and August.