§ 62. Sir W. Smithersasked the Minister of Food on what date the Administration of Rats Order will be transferred to his Department; how many rat administrators there are in Britain; what is their salary; how many are male and how many female; what steps are taken to ascertain their qualifications for these posts; and what is the cost for each rat killed.
§ Mr. StracheyNo arrangement is contemplated for the transfer of the administration of the Rats Order of 3rd June, 1940, to my Department. I am, however, responsible for the administration of rat destruction in non-agricultural land. The staff directly engaged on this work in Britain consists of 15 senior officers who are all men; one receives £900 per annum and the others £450—£600 per annum plus the appropriate cost of living bonus. There are also approximately 140 junior inspectors, clerical and subordinate staff. The senior officers are recruited through a selection board, which is responsible for examining their qualifications. I cannot give the cost of each rat killed—there are some ten million of them —but, in any case, the value of the service is best assessed in terms of damage prevented.
§ Sir W. SmithersIs the Minister aware that he could dismiss the whole of his staff and pay 3d. a tail for every rat caught? In that way he would save the country a lot of money and get more rats killed.
Lieut.-Colonel DowerIs it not a fact that 169 officials are engaged in the administration of this matter, and that only 104 are actually rat catchers?
§ Mr. StracheyNo Sir, I do not think these figures bear that out.