§ 46. Sir WALTER de FRECEasked the Prime Minister what are the exact duties carried out by the Department of Mines; what is its staff; what is its cost; and whether it is to be regarded as a permanent part of the official machinery?
§ The SECRETARY for MINES (Mr. Bridgeman)I have been asked to reply. The staff of the Mines Department, including the Inspectors of Mines and the temporary staff engaged on winding up financial control, numbers 360. The cost, which is limited by Statute to £250,000 a year, is at present £170,284 a year.
As regards the remainder of the question, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House to the hon. Member for Thanet (Mr. E. Harmsworth) on the 26th July last, and to the statement made on the subject by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in his speech on the 1st March last, on the recommendations of the Committee on Public Expenditure.