§ Mr. WARINGasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that at 4.25 p.m. on 8th April a number of male and female clerks in a temporary building named Birdcage House, purporting to be the offices of the Accountant-General, were leaning out of the windows and waving handkerchiefs and Government papers; and whether, in view of the insufficiency of work that such a state of things would indicate, he would suggest to the Accountant-General that the number of clerks in his employ should be reduced?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAThe occurrence to which my hon. Friend refers appears to have arisen in connection with the departure of two women clerks whose service at the Admiralty had terminated owing to the return from the Army of members of the permanent staff. These two clerks had called at the Admiralty after their departure to receive small balances of pay due to them, and it is a fact that three men and two women clerks waved a farewell to them from the windows as they left the building. I am bound to say that any suggestion of insufficiency of work in this Department is entirely unfounded. The section of the Department in question has had very heavy demands made upon it recently in connection with the increased work resulting from the termination of the War, and the pressure will continue for a considerable time.