§ 44. Colonel WOODCOCKasked the Minister of Labour the total expenses incurred by British delegates, advisers, and officials, for each of the last five years, in attending the various conferences and meetings of the International Labour Conference?
§ Mr. BETTERTONAs the reply contains a table of figures, I will, if I may, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Colonel WOODCOCKWill the hon. Gentleman give me the last figure for which. I asked; and, in view of the fact that he has attended this conference, can he tell us whether in his opinion the small results achieved are commensurate with the amount of money spent and also the time that is given to the work?
§ Mr. BETTERTONThe figure for which the hon. and gallant Member asked, the figure for 1921, is £1,864.
§ Mr. MONTAGUEDoes the Minister of Labour know of any reason why the International Labour Office should be so persistently crabbed by the hon. and gallant Member for Everton (Colonel Woodcock)?
§ Colonel WOODCOCKWill the hon. Gentleman answer the latter part of my supplementary question?
§ Following is the reply:
§ The total expenses incurred by British delegates, advisers, and officials in attending the various conferences and meetings of the International Labour Conference were:
| Financial Year. | £ | |||
| 1923 | … | … | … | 1,080 |
| 1924 | … | … | … | 2,206 |
| 1925 | … | … | … | 1,919 |
| 1926 | … | … | … | 1,896 |
| 1927 | … | … | … | 1,864 |
§ 48. Colonel WOODCOCKasked the Minister of Labour whether the buildings at Geneva for the International Labour Organisation are completed; what has been their total cost; and what amounts have been contributed by the British Government and the British Dominions?
§ Mr. BETTERTONAs the reply includes a number of figures, I will, if I may, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the reply:
§ The buildings at Geneva for the International Labour Organisation were completed in the summer of 1926.
§ Up to 31st December, 1927, payments on Building Fund Account amounted to 3,426,169 Swiss francs (approximately £135,851) and were met out of:
| Swiss francs. | Approx Sterling equivalent. | |
| (a) A grant from the League of Nations (out of surplus of previous years). | 3,301,388 | £130,904 |
| (b) Receipts from other sources. | 170,478 | £6.760 |
§ It is not possible to say how much Great Britain, or the other parts of the Empire contribute to the surpluses in question. The contribution of the former to League Funds has averaged about 10 per cent. and of the latter about 15 per cent.
§ 49. Colonel WOODCOCKasked the Minister of Labour the equivalent of the amount in sterling of the remuneration of the Director of the International Labour Office; and the equivalent of the sum in sterling paid to him by way of allowance for travelling or entertainment expenses as well as any other payments made to him by way of extras?
§ Mr. BETTERTONThe equivalent in sterling of the remuneration of the Director of the International Labour Office is approximately £3,570, and of the sum paid to him by way of personal allowance for entertainment expenses is approximately £1,190. Travelling expenses on the authorised scale are refunded to the Director, as to the rest of the staff, as and when they are necessarily incurred.
§ Colonel WOODCOCKIs the hon. Gentleman aware that the object of putting down these questions is to save the smallest amount of the taxpayers' money from being wasted?