§ Mr. GILLETTasked the Minister of Labour the number of Whitley Councils at present functioning; the number that have ceased to function; and the principal reasons for such suspension?
§ Mr. BETTERTON53 Whitley Councils and Interim Industrial Reconstruction Committees are at present in existence and are doing valuable work. Of the number originally established 40 have ceased to function. Many of these were set up in industries in which the organisation on both sides was not sufficiently complete for the effective operation of a council. Other important factors have been the abnormal circumstances existing during recent years and the divergence of sectional and district interests. Full details are given in the Report on the Establishment and Progress of Joint Industrial Councils, 1917–1922, and in the Report of the Balfour Committee on Industrial Relations.