§ 11. Mr. Winnickasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to increase the number of trained child-care officers and to increase the salaries of these officers.
§ Miss BaconMy right hon. Friend has approved the Central Training Council's proposals to expand the annual output of qualified students from about 275 in 1966 to 650 in 1969. Further proposals are under consideration. Salaries are a matter for the established negotiating machinery for local authority staffs and not for my right hon. Friend.
§ Mr. WinnickDoes my right hon. Friend really believe that enough is being done, even along the lines suggested, in recruiting these officers? Is my right hon. Friend aware that most 662 local authority child-care departments have tremendous difficulty in recruiting enough people and that most are desperately short of child-care officers?
§ Miss BaconYes, I am not minimising the shortage, but I want to emphasise that we are providing the training facilities to increase the number of child-care officers considerably over the next few years. We are determined to do everything that we can, because we know that there is such extreme anxiety.
§ Mr. SharplesCan the right hon. Lady say whether the Government's wage freeze will apply to child-care and probation officers?
§ Miss BaconThat is another question which I could not answer now.