HC Deb 03 May 1928 vol 216 cc1892-3
53 Lieut.-Colonel GADIE

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (1) the total number of staff in Departments of His Majesty's Government, other than those specified in the White Paper, dated 24th April, 1928, giving the particulars on 1st April, 1914, 1st April, 1925, 1st April, 1927, and 1st January, 1928;

(2) the number of the staff employed by Departments in the following Estimate classes on 1st April, 1914: Central Government and Finance; Imperial and Foreign; Home Office Legal Departments, etc.; Education, Museums, etc.; Health, Labour, Insurance, and Pensions; Trade and Industry; and Common Services, respectively;

(3) if he will explain in detail the note on page 4 of the White Paper dated 24th April, 1928, stating that the increase of 300 in Group III is accounted for by the addition of staffs not included in the staff returns for earlier years; will he explain, in view of the above note, the decrease of 38, 1st April, 1925, to 1st April, 1926, followed the next year by an increase of 131; and the increase of 211 in the nine months 1st April, 1927, to 1st January, 1928?

The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the TREASURY (Mr. Arthur Michael Samuel)

As the replies to these questions contain a number of figures, I propose, with my hon. and gallant Friend's permission to circulate them in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Following are the figures:

(53) The figures in the White Paper covered the non-industrial staffs of Civil Departments. The total non-industrial staffs of the Post Office, Revenue Departments and Defence Departments on the dates in question are as follow:

1st August, 1914 … … … 225,286
1st April, 1925 … … … 229,692
1st April, 1927 … … … 234,805
1st January, 1928 … … … 236,462

Figures for 1st April, 1914, are not available. The figures for 1st August, 1914, exclude Irish staffs numbering, approximately, 19,000.

(54) Figures for 1st April, 1914, are not available. The staff of Government Departments on 1st August, 1914, grouped according to the classification referred to below, was as follows:

Central Government and Finance 1,325
Imperial and Foreign 937
Home Office, Legal Departments, etc 7,199
Education, Museums, etc 3,173
Health, Labour, Insurance and Pensions 9,757
Trade and Industry 5,406
Common Services 1,719

The above figures are exclusive of certain staffs paid in 1914 on a fee basis or from lump sum provisions, which are now directly employed and were included in the figures shown in the White Paper recently presented to Parliament.

(55) During the period 1st April, 1925, to 1st January, 1928, the staffs employed in County Courts, which are included in the return of staffs in Group III, increased by 124, owing mainly to the gradual substitution of staff in direct employment for the former system of officers paid by fees or remunerated from lump sum provision.

In addition to the above figure, staffs numbering 197, which had been omitted altogether from the returns for earlier years, were included in the return for 1st January, 1928.

If an adjustment is made to allow for the above additions of 321, the real increases or decreases in Group III are as follow:—