§ 4. Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Minister without Portfolio whether he has completed his plans for preventing a large fall in the purchasing power of the working classes during the switch-over of industry from war to peace conditions; and whether he will test their efficacy by putting them into operation in cases where workmen are laid off during a change from one firm of war production to another?
§ The Minister without Portfolio (Sir William Jowitt)Measures for the stabilisation of prices in relation to wage levels are inseparable from any scheme for ensuring employment for the people, which, as stated in the Gracious Speech, is amongst the primary aims of His Majesty's Government in the transitional period. Plans are being elaborated and my Noble Friend, the Minister of Reconstruction, regards their examination as one of the first tasks demanding his attention. The extent to which it may be practicable and necessary to adopt such plans, or any part of them, before the end of the war in supplementation of war-time measures of stabilisation can best be considered when the plans are finally completed.