HC Deb 08 September 1942 vol 383 cc1-3
1. Major Lyons

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the establishment of his regional offices, excluding clerical and messenger grades, and the respective salaries of the appointments under the director in each office; and whether there is to be uniformity in each region?

The Minister of Fuel and Power (Major Lloyd George)

As the information for which my hon. and gallant Friend asks is detailed and lengthy, I propose, with his consent, to have it circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Major Lyons

Will it include an estimate of the sum total of the annual cost?

Major Lloyd George

Yes, Sir.

Following is the information:

I have created a Regional Organisation within my Department consisting of 12 Regions whose boundaries correspond broadly to those of the Civil Defence Regions, except that I have created a separate coal-production Region for Cumberland and Northumberland, and have grouped the London and South Eastern Regions together for certain purposes.

In each Region I have appointed a Regional Controller who will be responsible for co-ordinating all the local functions of my Department within his Region. Eight of the Regions embrace coal producing districts and in these Regions the Controller will have under him three Directors (Production, Labour and Services), as envisaged in the recent White Paper on Coal (Cmd. 6364). In all Regions, the Controllers have assumed responsibility for the work carried out by the Divisional Coal Officers, Divisional Petroleum Officers and Gas Liaison Officers.

Generally speaking, the organisation of each Regional Headquarters for the coal-producing Regions will be uniform in character, but there will be small variations to meet particular needs of different Regions, and the organisation in the non-producing Regions will naturally be much smaller.

With minor variations the senior appointments in each of the eight coal-producing Regions will consist of:

1 Regional Controller—salary £2,000.

3 Regional Directors—salaries between £1,000 and £1,250.

1 Regional Inspector of Mines—salary £1,000–£1,200.

4 Assistant Directors—salaries between £600 and £880.

1 Chief Executive Officer—salary between £650 and £860.

1 Regional Coal Officer—salary between £700 and £900.

2 Assistant Regional Coal Officers—salaries between £600 and £750.

1 Regional Petroleum Officer—salary between £650 and £800.

1 Gas Liaison Officer (in certain Regions)—salary between £700 and £1,000.

In the four non-coal-producing Regions, the former Regional Fuel and Power Controllers of the Board of Trade have generously agreed to serve as Regional Controllers of my Department without remuneration. In these Regions there will be no Directors or Assistant Directors of Production or Labour and no Regional Inspector of Mines, but otherwise the Organisation will be similar to that in the coal-producing Regions.

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