§ 42. Sir Waldron Smithersasked the Minister of Labour when ascertaining the manpower necessary for 1947, as noted in section 15 of Cmd. 7046, what standard of output was taken and for what year.
§ The Minister of Labour (Mr. Isaacs)As pointed out in Paragraph 61 of Cmd. 7046, the central fact of 1947 is that we have not enough resources to do all that we want to do. The Economic Survey for 1947 does not purport to estimate the manpower that would be needed to meet all requirements; it only suggests the desirable distribution of the manpower likely to be available at the end of the year.
§ Sir W. SmithersDoes not the Minister realise that owing to the fuel crisis and to the demand for shorter hours and higher wages, and to the decreasing output per man-hour, Cmd. 7046 is of no value at all now? Will the Government say so, and scrap it?
§ Mr. IsaacsThe Government will not say so because we find that the information given in that document is still of great value to industry.