§ 38. Mr. HOFFMAN (for Mr. KELLY)asked the President of the Board of Trade what are the rates of wages and conditions of working of men engaged in the lighthouses round the coast of Great Britain; the wages and conditions of officers and men in the light vessels; and the wages and conditions of officers and men engaged on the steamboats engaged in the lights service?
§ Mr. W. R. SMITHThe lighthouse services round the coasts of Great Britain, apart from those under the control of local authorities, are managed by two general lighthouse authorities, the Trinity House and the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses. The staffs are not paid out of Votes, but out of the General Lighthouse Fund. The grades 199 employed are too numerous and conditions too varied to enable detailed information to be given in reply to a question, but I am sending my hon. Friend copies of various Industrial Court awards which contain a large amount of relevant information relating to the pay and conditions of service of officers and men employed by the Trinity House. These awards have been applied, so far as possible, to the staff of the Northern Lighthouse Commissioners.
§ Mr. SMITHERSWhere any vacancies occur in this service, will the hon. Gentleman give first consideration to those British subjects who have been dismissed from the lighthouse service of the Egyptian Government?
§ Mr. SMITHI can have the matter brought to the attention of the authorities responsible for engaging those men. The authorities are Trinity House and the Northern Lighthouse Commissioners.