§ 24. Mr. Kellyasked the Home Secretary the number of complaints or prosecutions for young persons working overtime during 1935 and 1936 in factories engaged in engineering?
§ Sir S. HoareIf by overtime the hon. Member means time over and above the normal 47 or 48 hour working week, I would remind him that the existing Factory Acts allow a working week of 60 hours in the case of young persons in non-textile factories, and that, so long as the limits laid down in the Act as to the daily periods of employment are observed, no question of any prosecution for "overtime" can arise. In 1936 there were prosecutions under the Acts in respect of the employment of 343 young persons before or after legal hours, the corresponding figure for 1935 being 312. These figures, however, relate to all industries, and I regret that no separate figures are available for particular industries.
§ Mr. KellyIn view of young people being worked overtime in defiance of the law, should not something be done to strengthen the law in order to prevent these young people from being exploited in this way?
§ Sir S. HoareThat is exactly what we are doing in the Bill which is under consideration this afternoon.