47. Mr. De la Bèreasked the Minister of Agriculture what steps have been taken to check the increase of officials and executive officers who are now employed in the various counties throughout the country and are in receipt of salaries derived from public money; the salary paid to each county executive officer and salaries paid to his assistants, and the average salary paid to the county deputy officer, drainage officer, pests officer, horticultural officer and labour officer; and, since the countries are divided into several districts, the average emolument of the district officer?
Mr. HudsonAs the answer is rather long and contains a number of figures, I will, with the hon. Member's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
Mr. De la BèreIs my right hon. Friend aware that it is dangerously unwise to multiply the number of paid officials throughout the country? Many of these officials do good work, but many of them could be dispensed with.
Mr. HudsonI think that one of the most remarkable things about the food production campaign is the amount of voluntary work put in, and I am quite sure that the number of paid workers is insignificant compared with the amount of voluntary work that is being done.
Mr. De la BèreI am glad to hear that my right hon. Friend does not intend to multiply them.
Following is the answer:
Apart from the county executive officers who are appointed by me, all appointments to the staffs of County War Agricultural Executive Committees are made on the recommendation of the Committee concerned, and no appointment is approved unless I am notified that it is essential for the effective organisation of the food production campaign. The majority of the senior posts are filled by officers who have been taken over from the county councils' agricultural staffs at their existing salaries for whole or part-time service and the appointment of other members of the staffs is made in accordance with regulations made by the Treasury. As many officers are employed by the Executive Committees for part-time duties only, it is not practicable to state the average salary figures asked for by my hon. Friend, but the maximum salaries authorised by the Treasury in respect of appointments filled other than through local authorities' existing staffs for the grades to which he refers are respectively as follow:
£ Executive officer 900 Deputy executive officer 600 Assistant executive officer 500 District officer 350 The question of the maximum salaries payable to officers in the other grades mentioned is at present under review, but in most cases payments in excess of £350 per annum for full-time service are not contemplated.
I am glad to take this opportunity of paying tribute to the enormous amount of voluntary work which has been undertaken by members of the County War Agricultural Executive Committees and their sub-committees and district committees in connection with the home food production campaign.