§ 103. Brigadier-General COCKERILLasked the President of the Board of Trade whether the Timber Supplies Department still exists; and, if so, what is the staff engaged, the monthly cost, and the duties performed?
§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the BOARD of TRADE (Sir W. Mitchell-Thomson)The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The administrative and accounts staff, numbering at present 298 and costing £4,831 per month, are engaged in the disposal of stocks, plant and machinery, settling claims, and, generally, in the final liquidation of the commitments of the Government in regard to timber. The number of workmen at present employed in various localities is 830. The numbers employed in this branch are progressively diminishing as liquidation proceeds. The 405 total personnel to-day is 1,128. In February last it was 1,980, and in February, 1919, over 29,000.