HC Deb 09 December 1952 vol 509 cc216-7
7. Mr. Pannell

asked the Secretary of State for War why the Regimental Pay Office of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Leeds, is to be moved to a hutted camp at Ovendon Park, near Halifax; and whether he has considered any compensation for the increased expenses to the staff who may live in Leeds.

Mr. Head

My hon. Friend has written to the hon. Member about this. We must get this Pay Office into permanent accommodation. The civilian staff will be entitled to various allowances to compensate for the extra expense of setting up house in Halifax and if, temporarily,. a householder cannot find accommodation in the Halifax area, he will be able to claim refund, within certain limits, of the extra cost of daily travel to his work in Halifax.

Mr. Pannell

Will the Minister say why it has taken his Department such a long time to comply with the request for information and why it has been necessary to put down a Parliamentary Question to get an answer to a letter which was sent two months ago? Secondly, why, generally speaking, in their relationships with the staffs does his Department seem to handle this matter in rather a ham-handed manner?

Thirdly, is the Minister aware that the staffs still consider that the offers of compensation for changing from Leeds to Halifax are in many cases completely inadequate, and will he consult with the staffs again—[HON. MEMBERS: "Speech."] I am not one of those Members who usually inflicts unnecessary Questions on the House in the same way as my interrupters do. Will the Minister see that there is further consultation with the staffs to see whether we cannot get an abatement of most of their grievances about which they have written to me and I have written to the right hon. Gentleman?

Mr. Head

Changes of this kind are always unwelcome when they start. The Regimental Pay Office was unsatisfactory through being scattered in the old days in requisitioned accommodation. They will now go to a central place where they will all he together, and I hope that very soon the staffs will settle down in Halifax. If there are any particular difficulties I shall be only too glad to attend to them.