§ Mr. RILEYasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport the reduction in the railway directors as a result of the recent railway amalgamations; and what is the approximate saving in directors' fees and emoluments, if any, and the extent to which compensation is being paid to the directors whose services have been discontinued?
§ Lieut.-Colonel ASHLEYThe directors of the undertakings which will be amalgamated under the Railways Act of 1921 numbered about 700 at the end of that year. The maximum number authorised by Schedule 2 of the Act for the four amalgamated companies is 102. The fees paid in 1921 to the directors of the same undertakings amounted to about £154,000, but I am not in a position to state the amount of the fees which will be paid by the new companies. The amount to be paid to directors whose services have been discontinued is a matter for the shareholders and, so far as I am aware, has in some cases not yet been determined.