§ Mr. R. Morganasked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department why the proportion of officers in receipt of salaries of £1,000 per annum or more in his Department is approximately one in 1o, excluding messengerial, etc., staffs.
§ Mr. JohnstoneOwing to war conditions much of the normal work of my Department has been necessarily suspended, more particularly the work that may be regarded as of a routine character. As a result a proportionately smaller clerical staff suffices for present needs. The Department has loaned to other Departments personnel in all grades, the authorised complement of the Department having been reduced at one point from 423 to 101, and the number of senior personnel has been very considerably reduced though not in strict proportion to the reduction of junior personnel. This is due to the fact that the work upon which the Department is now mainly engaged—that of preparing plans to assist exporters after the war—calls largely for senior personnel. With a return to more normal conditions the proportion between senior and junior personnel will also become more normal.