§ Lieut.-Colonel MASONasked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that young girls about 16 years of age are being engaged for temporary jobs in his Department, while older women are being dismissed; and will he retain some of the latter to deal with such temporary work?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINA limited number of girls of this age are employed in the General Register Office in sorting documents concerned with the verification of certain particulars given in the forms of application for widows' and orphans pensions. The work is purely temporary and is quite unsuitable 45W for adult clerks. No older women are being or have been discharged from this Department.
§ Lieut.-Colonel MASONasked the Minister of Health how many women clerks in his Department are now working overtime in connection with the new Pensions Act; how long will such overtime work continue; is he aware that 250 woman clerks are now under notice of dismissal at the Ministry of Pensions; and, in view of their experience of pensions work, will he employ some of them rather than permit overtime?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINOne hundred and fifteen clerks have been employed on overtime for the last completed month, the numbers varying from week to week according to the needs of the work. I am most anxious to bring overtime to an end at the earliest possible opportunity, and I hope that the. need for it will sensibly diminish by the end of the year. In rep [y to the later part of the question I would refer to the answer given to my bon. Friend the Member for Wandsworth (Sir H. Jackson) on the 23rd ultimo.