§ Mr. MORGAN JONESasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the shorthand note fees of the official shorthand writers at the principal bankruptcy courts in the provinces have been cut by from 50 to 70 per cent. according to the number of examinations held, and that such cuts have only been accepted under protest by the shorthand writers concerned in view of the intimation given by the Bankruptcy Department of the Board of Trade to the representatives of a professional organisation that the Board intend to get the work done as cheaply as possible, irrespective of standard rates or other considerations; and whether he will undertake to look into the matter with a view to these reductions being mitigated, either by a more equitable settlement in regard to the note-taking fees or an upward revision of the transcript rates?
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§ Mr. RUNCIMANThe rates of payment to shorthand writers in Bankruptcy Courts in London and the provinces have recently been revised, not only on the general ground of economical administration but because, owing to the method of calculation adopted, the fees for attendance, as distinct from those for transcript notes, were unjustifiably high. The new system of remuneration was adopted after consultation with those associations who were understood to represent the bulk of the shorthand writers concerned. The total reduction in fees due to the revised system is estimated at 15 per cent., and in existing circumstances I can hold out no hope of any upward revision.