HC Deb 08 March 1926 vol 192 cc1901-2
54. Mr. BUXTON

asked the Minister of Agriculture the number of exemptions from the operation of the minimum wage fixed by local committees under the Agricultural Wages Act applied for and granted, respectively, in those areas where the wage fixed is under 32s.?

Mr. GUINNESS

In areas where the minimum rate of wages for adult male workers is less than 32s. per week, 8,213 exemptions have been applied for and 6,676 granted up to the 31st January last I am circulating in the OFFICIAL REPORT details for the counties concerned.

Following are the details:

The number of exemptions from the operation of the Orders made under the Agricultural Wages (Regulation) Act, 1924, fixing minimum rates of wages for workers employed in agriculture applied for and granted up to 31st January, 1926, in areas where the minimum rate of wages for ordinary male workers aged 21 years and over is less than 32s. per week, are as follow:

Agricultural Wages Committee Area. No. of applications received. No. of permits granted.
Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire. 218 183
Berkshire 356 276
Buckinghamshire 131 109
Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely. 248 197
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly. 166 110
Dorsetshire 281 240
Essex 722 645
Gloucestershire. 547 328
Hampshire and Isle of Wight. 477 329
Herefordshire 443 381
Hertfordshire 271 225
Norfolk 633 569
Northamptonshire and Soke of Peterborough. 222 205
Oxfordshire 360 283
Shropshire 203 163
Staffordshire 200 156
Suffolk 865 736
Sussex 477 402
Warwickshire 196 153
Wiltshire 503 402
Worcestershire 401 336
Anglesey and Carnarvonshire. 56 47
Carmarthenshire 26 24
Denbighshire and Flintshire. 20 17
Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire. 59 53
Pembrokeshire and Cardiganshire. 110 83
Radnorshire and Brecknockshire. 28 24
Totals 8,213* 6,676*
* The figures include a small number of cases in respect of female workers.