§ Mr. Sharpasked the Postmaster-General what improved methods and organisation have been adopted, and what economies have been achieved, as a result of the organisation and methods full-scale inquiry, started in 1947, into the Post Office Savings Bank; what work still remains to be done; and by what date he expects to receive a final report and recommendations.
159W
§ Mr. Wilfred PalingThis organisation and methods investigation is one of the most complicated yet undertaken and I understand that it is unlikely to be completed before the autumn of 1950. Various recommendations on sorting methods employed for envelopes and documents have been accepted and will be put into full operation when details have been worked out and apparatus installed. Staff savings will result but no reliable estimate can yet be made. In general, I understand that the investigations to date indicate that, within the present mechanised system, really substantial economies are not to be expected. The main task remaining to this inquiry is to establish whether or not some alternative system, either of procedure or of mechanisation, is practicable and economical.