§ 80. Mr. Thorneasked the hon. and gallant Member for Rye, as representing the Forestry Commissioners, the rates of wages for all classes of workers employed in afforestation schemes in England, Scotland, and Wales; the total number of workers employed for the years 1935 and 1936, to the nearest available date, giving the number of workers in each county where afforestation schemes are now in progress; and whether recent applications have been made for increases in wages to all classes of workers, and with what success?
§ Colonel Sir George Courthope (Forestry Commissioner)The time rate of wages paid by the Forestry Commissioners to adult males in England and Wales is 39s. per week in Glamorgan, 36s. in Carnarvon and Derby and 35s. in all other counties. Piece work rates where practicable provide opportunities for earning more. In the north-eastern counties in Scotland the rate is 38s., and in the others 40s. 6d. An average of 10 per cent. above the local agricultural wage is paid by the Commission to women and juveniles. The minimum number of Commission workers employed in the last 1002 two years was approximately 3,000 and the maximum was approximately 3,900, the number of Commission workers in each county being shown in a list which, with the permission of the House, I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT. Applications have recently been made for increases in wages and in Glamorgan the Agricultural Wages Committee granted the application.
§ Following is the list:
| County. | Minimum. | Maximum. | |
| Bedford | … | 8 | 12 |
| Berkshire | … | 8 | 16 |
| Brecknock | … | 15 | 28 |
| Caernarvon | … | 41 | 44 |
| Cardigan | … | 45 | 39 |
| Carmarthen | … | 84 | 119 |
| Cheshire | … | 50 | 54 |
| Cornwall | … | 16 | 18 |
| Cumberland | … | 126 | 194 |
| Denbigh | … | 53 | 62 |
| Derby | … | 21 | 25 |
| Devon | … | 8l | 87 |
| Dorset | … | 45 | 36 |
| Durham | … | 24 | 62 |
| Gloucester | … | 72 | 89 |
| Glamorgan | … | 70 | 78 |
| Hants | … | 164 | 171 |
| Hereford | … | 35 | 25 |
| Isle of Wight | … | 31 | 29 |
| Kent | … | 24 | 34 |
| Lines | … | 24 | 40 |
| Merioneth | … | 73 | 119 |
| Monmouth | … | 161 | 194 |
| Montgomery | … | 36 | 50 |
| Norfolk | … | 74 | 131 |
| Northants | … | 66 | 99 |
| Northumberland | … | 80 | 109 |
| Notts | … | 37 | 56 |
| Oxford | … | 3 | 5 |
| Radnor | … | 38 | 28 |
| Shropshire | … | 4 | 7 |
| Somerset | … | 25 | 26 |
| Staffs | … | 33 | 41 |
| Suffolk | … | 92 | 167 |
| Surrey | … | 5 | 6 |
| Sussex | … | 32 | 42 |
| Wilts | … | 6 | 13 |
| Worcester | … | 17 | 20 |
| Yorks | … | 77 | 144 |
| Aberdeen | … | 103 | 151 |
| Angus | … | 10 | 13 |
| Argyll | … | 286 | 294 |
| Ayr | … | — | 8 |
| Berwick | … | 4 | 7 |
| Dumfries | … | 44 | — |
| Elgin or Moray | … | 64 | 202 |
| Fife | … | 57 | 107 |
| Inverness | … | 203 | 244 |
| Kincardine | … | 24 | 33 |
| Kinross | … | 2 | 2 |
| Kirkcudbright | … | 55 | 80 |
| Nairn | … | 9 | 9 |
| Peebles | … | 21 | 19 |
| Perth | … | 138 | 117 |
| Ross | … | 60 | 83 |
| Roxburgh | … | 9 | 11 |
| Stirling | … | 15 | 15 |
| Sutherland | … | 12 | 11 |
| Wigtown | … | 4 | 7 |
| Isle of Skye | … | 10 | 13 |