§ 39. Mr. LEWISasked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he will state how many employés a firm must have for the War Office to require the firm to comply with the conditions of the King's Roll as a condition of holding a Government contract?
§ The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the WAR OFFICE (Mr. Duff Cooper)Any relaxation of the general rule on account of the small size of a firm would not apply to firms employing 25 or more hands.
§ Mr. LEWISSeeing that the requirement of the King's Roll is only 5 per cent of the total employés, will not my hon. Friend see in future that small firms as well as large are asked to agree to the King's Roll as a condition of holding a contract?
§ Mr. COOPERThe imposition of the condition on very small firms would obviously imply very great hardship in some cases. The present rule has been observed by all Governments for the last 12 years, and has answered very well.