§ 8. Mr. Houghtonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why Her Majesty's Government continue to discharge civil servants on the grounds of redundancy while Civil Service staffs generally continue to work 7 hours longer per week in London and 1½ hours longer elsewhere than in 1939.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterI cannot agree to any suggestion that individual working hours in the Service should be reduced in order to save redundant staff from discharge.
§ Mr. HoughtonIs the hon. Gentleman aware of any other industry in Britain where the workers have accepted discharges on the grounds of redundancy when overtime is being worked as a regular practice, a great deal of it without any pay whatever?
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterWithout seeking to indulge in comparisons which would probably be misleading, I would remind the hon. Gentleman that it is the duty of 607 the Government to keep the demands of the Civil Service on the nation's manpower down to the minimum consistent with efficiency.
§ Mr. HoughtonWill the hon. Gentleman be good enough to inform his hon. Friends who are in the "hatchet group" behind him of the information he has just given about the Civil Service?
§ 9. Mr. Houghtonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many more civil servants would be needed if the general level of hours were restored to the prewar figure; and how many more staff would be required in the tax branch of the Inland Revenue Department if staffs ceased to take work home for performance by members of their families.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterThe answer to the first part of the Question is, very roughly, 28,000. The answer to the second part is, about 750 full-time clerks.
§ Mr. HoughtonWill the hon. Gentleman bear these matters in mind when he receives representations from his hon. and right hon. Friends about cuts in the Civil Service?