HC Deb 25 June 1941 vol 372 cc1028-9
17. Captain Lyons

asked the Minister of Information what salaries are paid to each of the 42 persons employed in canvassing public opinion; what action is taken on their reports; the ages of the youngest and oldest so employed; by whom they were chosen; and the number selected from the Central Register of the Ministry of Labour?

The Minister of Information (Mr. Duff Cooper)

The salaries paid to the interviewers range from £5 to £6 per week, according to qualifications and experience. Their reports are sent in most cases to the Ministries which ask for them. I am not, therefore, in a position to say what action is taken on them. Their ages range from 23 to 53 years. None of them have been selected from the Central Register of the Ministry of Labour, but two have been selected from the Supplementary Register of the Ministry of Labour. The details of the method of selection of the other interviewers was given in my answer to the hon. Member's Question of 7th August, 1940.

Captain Lyons

Is it not a fact that the House of Commons can best reflect public opinion and that these people might be better employed doing something else? Will the Minister wipe out the whole of this unnecessary organisation and apply the Concentration of Industry Order to it?

Mr. Cooper

This matter once formed a subject of Debate, when it was explained that the facts about which these people are asked to make inquiries by other Departments, such as the Ministry of Food and the Board of Trade, can be ascertained only by expert and immediate inquiry. They are not matters about which Members of Parliament are expected to exercise their minds. The facts relate to such matters as food restrictions and their working in certain districts about which the Food Ministry want expert advice. These inquiries, which are performing a very useful function, have caused no complaint during the last 12 months.

Captain Lyons

Does the right hon. Gentleman tell the House that these young men of 23, who ought to be somewhere else, are really the best judges on these matters?

Mr. Cooper

Perhaps the hon. and gallant Member has observed that they are nearly all young women.