Mr. A. T. DAVIESasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he proposes to discontinue the issue of Form Z 8 of the Industrial War Inquiries Branch to traders, manufacturers, and others; whether Section 4 of that document is now unnecessary; and, if not, whether it is incumbent upon employers to forward the particulars in Form Z 8?
§ Sir A. GEDDESThe information secured regarding the state of employment throughout the country by means of the inquiry to which the hon. Member refers has been, and continues to be, of considerable value. As was stated on a recent occasion in reply to a similar question, the more general the response to this inquiry, the greater will be the reliability and consequently the value of the deductions based on it. I do not think that most employers find that a great deal of time is required for the filling up of this form, but in order to relieve them as far as possible the interval at which the returns has been asked for have recently been changed from monthly to quarterly, and future simplification is under consideration.