§ 13. Sir A. YEOasked the Minister of Labour whether he can state the number of his staff employed in October, 1919, for purely statistical work; and whether there has been any reduction in the staff since that date?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAOn the 17th October, 1919, the Statistical Staff at the headquarters of the Ministry of Labour numbered 226. The corresponding number at the present time is 177. Since that date, however, certain statistical work previously carried out at Kew for the Employment Department, and also that section of the Industries Branch of the Board of Trade which dealt with industrial 753 enquiries, have been transferred to the Intelligence and Statistics Department of the Ministry of Labour, this additional staff numbering 70. It is anticipated that these arrangements will result in considerable economies in time and printing, and any reductions in staff that are found feasible will be effected at the earliest possible moment.