§ 29. Mr. Lewisasked the Minister of Health if he has considered the letter from the Lexden and Winstree Rural District Council protesting at the labour involved in filling in the returns required by the Ministry of Health Circular 11/45, dated 5th February, 1945; and if he will cause inquiries to be made to see whether some reduction can be made in the number and complexity of the returns which his Ministry is now asking local authorities to make on 'different subjects.
§ Mr. WillinkYes, Sir. The return relates to information which, on the one hand, the local authorities must have in order to carry out their functions and which, on the other, is required by the Central Departments in order to secure a fair allocation of labour to different areas for war damage repairs. Returns of this kind are kept under continuous review and are reduced to the minimum.
Mr. DriberģIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that this Council, like many others, is handicapped acutely by shortage of staff, and has he made any further recent representations to the Service Departments about the release of qualified staff?
§ Mr. WillinkYes, Sir, I am, of course, aware of the shortage, and pressure is continuous to obtain the release of local authority officers in the Services, Government Departments and industry.