§ 11. Captain Lyonsasked the Minister of Labour whether the Central Register is still in operation; whether he will give the number of persons whose names are now thereon; the number thereof known to be available; and the number employed from the Register to date?
§ Mr. BevinThe Central Register maintained by my Department is still in operation; the number of persons enrolled on the Register is now 198,913. The great majority of the persons on the Register are already employed in work of national importance and are therefore available for employment only in the sense that they can be transferred, if necessary, to new employment of greater priority. Up to date 13,172 persons on the Register have been placed in work of national importance.
§ Captain LyonsWill the right hon. Gentleman give his personal attention to the matter in view of the fact that it is obvious, from the many appointments that are made not from the Register at all, that there is something beside merit which gets appointments in the case of persons not on the Register, and that people are being side-tracked by having their names thereupon?
§ Mr. BevinI have given it personal attention. I reorganised the whole business from top to bottom and put a person in charge who had had long experience as an expert in placing from Cambridge instead of a civil servant.
§ Captain LyonsHow is it that such a small number have been found appointments out of the thousands of appointments that have been made since the Central Register came into being? There is a good deal of public uneasiness about it.
§ Mr. BevinThe Central Register is not a place for providing employment for people. It was never intended to be, and I have no intention of converting it into such an instrument.