§ Sir W. Smithersasked the President of the Board of Trade if he has studied particulars which have been sent him concerning a visit paid by his officials to the premises of Wilsons Cooperage Company Limited at St. Mary Cray; how many people, cars and chauffeurs are employed in this kind of work; and what is the annual cost.
§ Mr. RhodesYes. The visit was made in the course of compiling the classified mailing list for the Census of Distribution and other services. The method adopted was described in the reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Ilkeston (Mr. Oliver) on 16th May last. Two hundred and forty officers were employed and nearly a million names and addresses have been registered as a result of their work. Forty cars and chauffeurs were available for reaching and covering rural areas and outlying parts of towns where their use effected a saving of time and money. Most of the work, however, was covered on foot or by public transport. The expenditure on this work, which226W is non-recurring, was £98,000 and is part of the cost of the census which will be taken in 1951.
§ Sir W. Smithersasked the President of the Board of Trade what is the cost to date of collecting information for the Census of Distribution; and how many people are employed on this work.
§ Mr. RhodesIt is impracticable to segregate the expenditure on the preparation for this Census so as to give an estimated figure of the cost to date. Staff numbering 432 are employed in the Census office.