HC Deb 24 January 1949 vol 460 cc564-5
62. Mr. Bramall

asked the Minister of Agriculture what welfare arrangements exist for the supervision of the working hours and living and working conditions of young workers on the land, where these are living away from home on farms or in lodgings.

Mr. T. Williams

My Department is charged with the enforcement of the Orders of the Agricultural Wages Board, which regulate rates of wages in relation to working hours and provide for holidays with pay for young workers, as for other persons employed in agriculture. It does not, however, administer general welfare arrangements for young workers. The officers of the Youth Employment Service, for which my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour and National Service is responsible, seek to keep in touch with young workers whom they have placed in agriculture with a view to exercising a general supervision over their working and living conditions.

Mr. Bramall

Is my right hon. Friend satisfied that there is sufficient supervision to ensure that the living and working conditions of these young workers, many of whom are only 15, are satisfactory?

Mr. Williams

Yes, but most of the young workers referred to are living in their own homes. My right hon. Friend, through his organisation, seeks to care for the requirements of these youngsters. If, however, my hon. Friend has any case in mind and would like it inquired into, I am sure my right hon. Friend will do so at once.